How About A Deal?
by theAkuRokuFaNaTiC
Summary: Hisoka is fed up with doing Tsuzuki's paperwork, so he gives Tsuzuki an offer he can't refuse. Be a better Hisoka than he is, and Hisoka will do his paperwork for a month AND buy him a doughnut every day. If he loses, he does Hisoka's work for a month! Update: Possible Ending 3! Final Chapter!
1. The Bet

Hisoka growled as he watched Tsuzuki play with his pencil, completely ignoring his paperwork. He was used to it. But it's wrong when a sixteen year-old can do more work than a man who has been alive for over seventy years! Well, been _dead_ is a bit more accurate.

"Something wrong?" Tsuzuki asked with a grin. Hisoka was about to growl again, but something snapped.

"Yes, Something _is_ wrong! You won't do your work, and you're leaving it all to me! I. Am. Tired. Of. It." Perhaps emphasizing each word was a bit more menacing, but Hisoka could tell that Tsuzuki didn't see him as a threat at all. Which, in all reality, made Hisoka even more irate. If they were going to work together, Tsuzuki needed to pull some of the weight. Hisoka felt like an office-wife than an equal. Something had to be done.

Then it hit him. "How would you like a nice, big doughnut, Tsuzuki?" he asked, attempting to sound friendly. It apparently caught Tsuzuki's interest. "Well, would you like one?"

Tsuzuki nodded his head like an excited puppy.

"Well you can't have one. You don't do your work."

"That's unfair!" Tsuzuki argued. Ah, it made Hisoka happy to feel the distress that Tsuzuki had.

Hisoka shrugged his shoulders. "That's too bad. _You_ should've done your work." Maybe he was going a bit too far on this, but Hisoka wasn't quite finished with his torture. In fact, it had only begun.

"I'll just go buy my own!"

"You can't. I took the liberty of taking the paycheck."

Tsuzuki glared. "But we're supposed to share the money!"

"We're also supposed to share the paperwork, but that's just not working out, is it? And no matter how much work you do, I won't give you the money because you get crumbs over my desk and I am flat out sick of it."

Never once had Tsuzuki seen Hisoka so worked up. Not even when talking about Muraki, and that did make him mad.

"I'll work. I'll work!" Tsuzuki pleaded.

"That's good, but I had a different idea. How about we switch roles? I get to act like you and do nothing. You can be me and work. Whoever does the other's job the best can make the other do a whole month's worth of paperwork, and if you win, I'll get you one doughnut every day for the whole month. Deal?" It was a risk, but this was the only way to get things done. And Hisoka had empathic powers, he knew exactly how Tsuzuki acted. Tsuzuki, on the other hand, had a very big obstacle.

It didn't take long for Tsuzuki to agree to the wager. "Fine."

"Starting now."

"Huh?"

Hisoka would've laughed had he not been trying to look scary. "Don't you want those glazed doughnuts and the chocolate covered ones with the sprinkles?"

"Yes. Yes."

"And the creme-filled ones? And the maple-flavored ones?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"And those Spanish ones...what were they called...?"

"Churros?"

"And the churros...?"

"YES!"

Tsuzuki's excitement was building rapidly.

"Well, you better start acting like me..."

Tsuzuki bit his lip slightly. This would be easy, right? All he had to do was act coldly towards others, make fun of peoples' insecurities, and be a paperworl-crazy workaholic. Simple...

Hisoka gave him a death glare which indicated that he knew exactly what Tsuzuki was thinking of him right now. Tsuzuki smiled slightly in slight remorse, like a simple apology, and Hisoka looked away.

How to be like Tsuzuki? This would be easy, right? All he had to do was smile at everything, never do his paperwork, and spend hours upon hours at bars and in the dessert line. Simple...

"I wonder what you're thinking about me..." Tsuzuki muttered.

"That's one thing you can't mimic about me," Hisoka stated,"you can't read peoples' emotions like me, so you can't truly be exactly like me. I knew this bet would be easy, but I didn't want it to be like...taking churros from a puppy..." Hisoka coldly punned. This made Tsuzuki whimper and pretend to be hurt deeply by this, but Hisoka knew better than to think that he had actually deeply offended Tsuzuki. It was simply too hard to make him whimper.

_I really can't use Hisoka's empath abilities... I'll have to pretend like I know exactly what's going on. Who's going to be the judge of who does better, anyway?_

"I already have that covered."

"Stop reading my emotions!"

Tsuzuki would've said more, but Watari walked in with a clipboard. "'Kay, so I have to judge who does better at being who?"

Watari gained a nod from Hisoka. "That's what I'm paying you for, isn't it?" he asked with an annoyed tone in his voice. _Such a young kid shouldn't really act like an adult..._ Tsuzuki thought to himself. Hisoka was too young to be acting more mature than Tsuzuki. If he were that young, he'd be asking Tatsumi to take him to go get ice cream or something...

"I enjoy acting older than my age."

Tsuzuki groaned. This was going to be the longest week in his life. Er, afterlife...

**Yo! Finally my first Descendants of Darkness fic! I really like how this is working out so far, and I already have some great ideas. Of course, I always enjoy commentary from my readers, such as ideas or critiques. I like a bit of criticism, like telling me where I messed up or if they're OOC, but please no flames. Yes, this is shounen-ai, and yes, I know that Hisoka would never really act like this, but he's probably fed up with Tsuzuki's no-work ethic. Please have fun reading!**

**-**AkuRokuFaNaTiC


	2. The Thoughts

Why, oh why did he make this stupid deal?! First of all, Hisoka hated smiling, and that's all that Tsuzuki did! Second, he didn't really feel in much of a helping mood, which was all that Tsuzuki did. Thirdly, why should he feel bad for peoples' problems? He already felt them as is, he doesn't really need to know that some girl's boyfriend dumped her, or that this guy got a fuzzy sweater for his birthday from his girlfriend instead of sex. It sickened Hisoka to think that he has to feel those dumb emotions. Didn't he get enough torture from Tsuzuki on a daily basis? And that was hard enough as is.

But no, he had to be stupid and challenge Tsuzuki to a stupid "Be a Better Me" game. Hisoka felt his hand twitching whenever he noticed a piece of paperwork going unnoticed and Tsuzuki would forget to do it. Or when he didn't sign on the dotted line. Yeah, that really made Hisoka's blood boil whenever that happened.

But paperwork was the only thing that Hisoka was really good at. It was the only thing that he could really do right, and people actually appreciated him for it. It made him happy. Tsuzuki knew this, so he most definitely liked to rip apart the only thing that Hisoka loved. It's not like he liked soccer, or basketball, or football. He wasn't the most athletic person in the world. More so than Watari, but so's a rock. He also wasn't a scientist like Watari was, which was better than being athletic. He's not very kind like Tsuzuki and Tatsumi, and he just hates people!

This is why Tsuzuki always teases Hisoka about being nicer and actually opening up to people. But when he does, they always get killed or something. Something always goes wrong.

How can Tsuzuki be so forgiving? The way he's so honest with people and the gentleness and compassion and patience and- no! Hisoka's mad at him right now! But honestly, Tsuzuki understands Hisoka better than anyone, better than his own family, which isn't very hard. He's not judgmental like others, and he is very patient; he let Hisoka come out of his shell at his own pace. He didn't rush him like others normally would. He was truthfully Hisoka's very first friend, and Hisoka thanked him for that. But even friends have arguments, but they usually work them out. Hisoka just wanted Tsuzuki to see the error of his mistake. You know, apologize and go on.

But no, it had to come to this. Hisoka really hadn't wanted it to have had to come to this, but Tsuzuki was seriously starting to borderline ridiculous. How hard was it to do just a bit of paperwork?

What did Tsuzuki think Hisoka was? Some maid or slave? How _did _Tsuzuki think of Hisoka? Were they truly friends like Tsuzuki claimed, or just friends when it benefited the other? Maybe Hisoka was the one being unfair about all of this. Maybe he put too many expectations on the limits of their friendship, or maybe there was nothing to begin with. But whenever Tsuzuki was near Hisoka, it did make him feel safe, so at least the friendship was one-sided.

Hisoka looked to Tsuzuki, who was working on his paperwork with the best Hisoka expression he could muster. It really was against his nature to scowl, and it almost make Hisoka laugh if he wasn't thinking so much right now. Not doing your paperwork really does give you time to think about life. This could be why Tsuzuki is so passive all the time.

Was now really a great time to bring up the question of their friendship? Probably not, but Hisoka really was questionable, and it would make him feel better to know, even if the answer hurt his feelings.

"Hey, Tsuzuki," Hisoka started, completely dropping his Tsuzuki facade. Tsuzuki, however, decided not to, for he didn't even look up from his paperwork. "Not right now, Hisoka. I'm trying to do some work. We can talk at break if I have time and if it's really important."

Hisoka felt a bit hurt at this. "But-"

"I know you want to go and get something to eat, but you're going to have to wait, alright?" there was a certain coldness in his voice that was strangely familiar. Surely, he didn't act like this on a daily basis. He didn't even hear what Hisoka wanted to say before cutting him off. Tsuzuki was taking this acting thing too far, Hisoka finally came to a conclusion. If anyone would act this out of character for a simple doughnut, he really was acting pathetic. Ha, acting, a pun. Hisoka pushed that jovial and corny pun aside for the time being. Why was Tsuzuki acting so distant. It was as if he had separated himself from the world.

Hisoka didn't act like that, did he? Did he honestly separate himself from everyone else? Why would he? Hisoka racked his brain for answers as to why Tsuzuki would come to such a foolish conclusion.

"It's because you do distance yourself," Watari explained when Hisoka had come asking for advice. Of course, he was blunt about it.

"Do not," Hisoka argued.

"You're afraid to be hurt by others, therefore, you distance yourself from those that actually care about you. It really does worry Tsuzuki. He doesn't think that you're developing into a very social teenager."

_He actually worries about me? And here I thought that Tsuzuki was this brainless, lazy, and just stupid guy. But he actually cares about me more than anyone else ever has. I'm...thankful...But I'm still going to win that bet! _Hisoka decided, now completely over his emotional turmoil that had plagued him. Now that he knew that Tsuzuki was truly his friend, he intended to beat him, and then Tsuzuki could finally see the joy and friendship behind doing paperwork.

**A.N.: 'Kay, I decided to do a chapter on Hisoka's thoughts about his and Tsuzuki's relationship, so now I'm gonna do my next one on how Tsuzuki thinks of Hisoka. Stay tuned!**


	3. The Hand Cramp

**A.N.: Alright, the long awaited new chapter of _How About A Deal_. I don't know if I really like this chapter, but it will get interesting real soon. So, thank you for bearing with me and my stupidity!**

Tsuzuki balanced his pen again, trying to not look at the massive stack of paperwork that was beside him. Even the very presence of it burnt his insides. He felt like dying just thinking about it. But he could _not_ lose this bet. The stakes were too high. Paperwork for a month would be one thousand times worse than just doing the paperwork now.

The thoughts burnt his insides, as well.

And it was with great regret that Tsuzuki picked up his pen and grabbed the first sheet of paperwork. Many of the other Shinigami gasped upon seeing this miracle. Someone even fainted. Somehow, Tsuzuki's pen felt much heavier than it usually did. It was like a burden that he couldn't get rid of. It almost hurt his heart.

And then he saw it. Beside his desk was Hisoka's. And in the chair by Hisoka's desk was Hisoka. And in the chair by Hisoka's desk was Hisoka eating something. And in the chair by Hisoka's desk was Hisoka eating something that was a cupcake. But he didn't savor it right! It wasn't even halfway gone yet. Hisoka ate like a bird...

"Actually, birds have to eat a lot in order to have energy to fly..." Hisoka told him, which only irritated Tsuzuki even more. But this was not the time to start harping on Hisoka for his not useful tidbits of information...that wasn't at all like Tsuzuki would act!

He certainly did not go on about the eating habits of a bird, and he certainly did NOT eat like one, either. It was obvious- Hisoka was a terrible Tsuzuki. This bet was as good as won. All he had to do was do the entire stack of paperwork, and he was golden. Yeah, that wouldn't be so hard. Aside from the fact that it was a very daunting stack of paperwork and Tsuzuki only had so much strength in his hand. This was certainly not going to end well, but it was worth a shot. If he could just make it through today without any-

*Grumble*

Darn his stomach. Well, darn Hisoka for making this stupid bet in the first place. Oh, how Tsuzuki wanted to go out to some restaurant right now and indulge on some of the many foods there. Oh, how magnificent it sounded. Unfortunately, even if Hisoka were to suggest in a Tsuzuki-manner to go out to eat, Tsuzuki would be forced in a Hisoka-manner to decline and therefore be back at square one. Was there no mercy to this bet?

But once he got off of work, no one would see him. No one would see him sneak off to some bar and grant his stomach the wonders of sake'. And Hisoka just picked up on this thought...

"Now that you bring that up, perhaps we should stay together to make sure that neither one of us is cheating," Hisoka mentioned, placing his hand to his chin in an almost convincing Tsuzuki impression. In normal circumstances, Tsuzuki would be absolutely delighted to have his normally socially awkward partner propose a sleepover, but that would mean having to act like his normally socially awkward partner day and night, and Tsuzuki wasn't even sure how Hisoka himself could manage that.

"Fine, but you have to stop reading my mind. It's not fair."

Hisoka looked taken aback at this. He was an Empath. There was no way to turn off his powers, and Tsuzuki knew that, but he had to make the tables fair. It seemed obvious that there was no arguing with Tsuzuki, and Hisoka inclined his head.

Tsuzuki would've smiled in triumph, but he remembered that he was Hisoka, who never smiled unless he was torturing something, so he chose not to blow his chances before he even got started.

He was once again faced with the paperwork. This was the stepping stone in being Hisoka. He had to get this done otherwise he would not be a proper Hisoka, and he would not be able to win that bet, and gosh darn it, he wanted those churros! If paperwork was the only way to get to them, then so be it. He grabbed his pen once more, completely confident in his abilities as a wonderful Hisoka.

The first piece went along smoothly. The second wasn't so bad either. And after about twenty pieces of paper, which was an all time best for Tsuzuki, his hand started to tingle. After thirty, he felt it.

Hand cramp. His fingers protested on signing even more papers, he didn't know how far he could go without his fingers completely paralyzing. But he kept on working, despite the painful surges his fingers would experience. He wanted nothing more than to have a bottle of sake', but since Hisoka couldn't even hold one drink of it without passing out, that option was quickly ruled out.

Fate could be cruel sometimes. At least it'd be easy pretending to be Watari or Tatsumi. They were predictably and they had patterns in which they worked. But Hisoka was almost as spontaneous as Tsuzuki himself was. One minute he'd be hell-bent on doing his paperwork, and the next all he wanted was a nap. Tsuzuki didn't know whether to be sleeping or experiencing hand cramp.

Perhaps he could just quit. Then this would all be over, right? But then he would have to go through even more hand cramp than he already was. This was torture, just plain torture.

But if Hisoka, a fragile boy who couldn't hold sake', who passed out at random intervals, and who never seemed to get the right amount of sleep could do it, well then it was almost completely obvious that Tsuzuki could overcome hand cramp AND win that stupid bet. And when this was all over and he had his churros, he would even offer Hisoka one.


	4. The Anxiety

**A.N.: Okay, after studying for my very hard history test that I am totally not prepared for and after attempting and failing to get over my nagging cold, I have decided to work some more on this story. I'm really startin' to get into it, but let's just hope that this isn't just a phase...**

It was enjoyable to watch Tsuzuki suffer like this. Not really, but he did deserve it for all these months of never doing his paperwork. And having a hand cramp wasn't that bad. Honestly, Tsuzuki just overreacted sometimes, and it did tend to annoy Hisoka on occasion.

But nonetheless, it was nice to finally be able to just sit back and watch his partner suffer so. He didn't have to do anything. It was just him, Tsuzuki, and a couple of hours of relaxation. Of course, it was hard trying NOT to read other peoples' minds, but he would be able to adjust himself in due time. And he wasn't really looking foward to having to spend the night with Tsuzuki, but it's not like it would kill him. Well, it might kill Tsuzuki...

But that was just it-by being Tsuzuki, Hisoka wouldn't be allowed to be violent and annoyed all the time. In fact, he would have to be passive and harmless, and those words made him want to gag. How could someone be so happy and annoying all the time and yet be so smart? It was unfathomable, illogical...

No big words, either. It seemed that Tsuzuki was just trying to kill him with this bet. But he was the one who thought it up, but Tsuzuki was the one who had been annoying him...

It was Tsuzuki's fault, so there.

It really was easy not doing paperwork. Sure, he had nothing else to do, but relaxing was fun. Hisoka could just unwind and think about what it would be to not have to do this for one whole month, while Tsuzuki would be suffering from permanent hand cramp. Oh, it would be music to his ears.

Okay, so maybe silently hoping for the pain of others wasn't really Tsuzuki-like, but no one could read HIS mind. HE was the Empath, and HE was the one who could make sure that Tsuzuki would keep on track. Mean? Yes. Fair? No. Enjoyable? Oh yeah...

No paperwork. Yep, that was awesome. Who would want to do paperwork on a day like this? Who _wouldn't_ want to go outside while it was pouring cats and dogs and even a couple of bunnies here and there? It was just so lovely outside, that you would _never, ever_ want to do anything but _not_ do some mind-blowing paperwork.

Paperwork was for the dogs. Hm...Tsuzuki's a dog, makes sense. There's no one alive or dead who would like to do some boring paperwork, right?

Wrong. So horribly, horribly wrong. Hisoka's hand ached with the pain of not doing his paperwork. He wanted something to do, something to occupy his mind for a few hours. The agonizing minutes seemed to tick by so slowly without doing any paperwork. The unwelcome feeling of anxiety crept upon him like...like Tsuzuki usually did. Unwanted.

Doing paperwork was like torture. Not doing it for a month was almost unthinkable. If he could barely go a few hours without keeping his sanity, it wouldn't be long now before he would cave in and give up to Tsuzuki.

But that would mean having to buy doughnuts for a month. And those stupid churro-thingies... But doing a whole lot of paperwork for a month was a pleasureable thought, sort of. But having Tsuzuki rub in the fact that he could be an even better Hisoka that Hisoka can was even worse than not doing his paperwork.

There were always crossword puzzles. Those were time-consuming. Yes, he would just have to do a couple of crossword puzzles and everything would go away. Tsuzuki wouldn't be able to bother him and everything would be at peace with the world.

But for now, without a puzzle, Hisoka felt like crawling under a rock and dying. Just dying. He had to get out of here and find something productive to do for even just a short while. And, although it was against his better nature and he knew so much more than to do this, he stood up from his desk and turned to his partner, who had obviously recovered from his handcramp. He was signing meticulously on the papers and he gave off the feel and thoughts of someone who was bored out of their mind. Oh, if only he knew how Hisoka felt at the moment, being deprived of his wonderful paperwork. Torture, so much worse than doing it. After noticing that his partner got up, Tsuzuki lifted his head and gave him a look of pure despair.

"Is it time to go home yet?" he asked in a pleading tone. So unlike Hisoka.

"No, giving up already?" Hisoka asked him with an air of confidence. Tsuzuki did his best to assume a convincing glare and met Hisoka in the eyes.

"Then why aren't you doing your work?"

He _so_ wasn't even _remotely_ close to being Hisoka. He didn't even have name-calling down yet. And to be a proper Hisoka, you had to be ready to call someone an _idiot_. Otherwise, you were some cheap imitation.

Then Hisoka realized that he would actually have to _talk_ like Tsuzuki. He would actually have to take on some whiny tone and...beg... He would have to whine and complain and do all other manners of being a nuissance, while Tsuzuki could just sit back there and call people names. They both knew who got the better half of the deal.

This was so embarrasing. Would he have to actually attempt and find out where Tsuzuki pulled his ears and tail from. If there was anything Hisoka was sure of, it was that he refused, plain out refused, to have to act like a dog whilst begging. It was just so unbecoming on someone and made them look so stupid. But if this was the price to winning a bet, so be it.

"I'm bored and I want to go out to eat..." Hisoka whined, which turned out to be surprisingly convincing, as even Tsuzuki's eyes widened at this.

There was a moment of silence and the entire office was tence with anticipation.

"No."

Someone gasped, someone fainted, and even Hisoka was surprised. Tsuzuki looked defiant in this decision, though Hisoka could feel the despair washing over Tsuzuki like rain.

"Come on..."

"I said 'no.' Now get back to work."

Oh, he was good, but not good enough to match Hisoka. However, this would be a very hard and difficult match. Tsuzuki was an admirable and respectably actor, fine, but that was it. Hisoka, on the other hand, had something so much better than talent.

Hisoka had skills.

**A.N.: What do you think? I actually like the Tsuzuki-centric ones more, just because I don't have to sound so uptight in my writing. But it's always fun to pick on Hisoka, right? Anyway, please hope that I pass that dang history test and that I get over my cold soon. It's aggravating to have to blow your nose in class, you know. thnx!**


	5. The Emphasizing

**A.N.: New chapter! And thank you to all those who have read this and hoped that my history test and my cold got better. I did get an A on my test, but the cold will NOT die. So, another chapter Tsuzuki-centric!**

Bored. So bored. So freakin' incredibly bored. Tsuzuki couldn't stand the silence. He wasn't the _most_ talkative person in the world, but he always liked a bit of noise going on while he was working. No one, not even that meanie Hisoka, could go this long without making one peep, even if it was just a mean remark. Which he usually made, of course.

Hisoka could really be mean sometimes, which is why Tsuzuki had resorted to thinking of him as a _meanie_. And so what if he could read his mind? More power to the meanie, because Tsuzuki's mind was set. If he had to act like Hisoka, he might as well be as mean as Hisoka. Of course, he would never call Hisoka an _idiot_. That was just mean, and Hisoka was certainly not an idiot. And unlike Hisoka, Tsuzuki felt bad when he called other people names, even though Hisoka only reserved _idiot_ for Tsuzuki. And he might have saved a few choice words for Hijiri that Tsuzuki could never quite hear right. It sounded like cursings and profanities, but Hisoka was nicer than-

Scratch that. Hisoka _could_ be nice when he wanted to, but that was only when it was convenient for him. He wouldn't give other people the time of the day if they didn't talk to him first. And sometimes, when he was a real meanie, he would ignore only Tsuzuki.

What was his problem? Tsuzuki had never done a single thing to annoy Hisoka!

Well, when they first met maybe, but the kid had it coming for just coming out of the blue and pretending to almost shoot him...

And he did kind of kill Hijiri, who was really Hisoka, but Tsuzuki didn't know that, but it didn't really kill Hisoka, and then Hisoka was all cool-like and then he totally saved Hijiri and got hurt again, but he was still okay...

And then there was the boat with Princess Tsubaki and making Hisoka play poker because he had gotten into a problem with Muraki...

But they hugged after that!

And then there was Terazuma and the kissing, which made Tsuzuki totally jealous, and the transforming, and the cheating and the hurting of Hisoka's hand, but Tsuzuki completely avenged him by actually winning...

And then there was Kyoto with him being all depressed, and Hisoka was really nice that time, but then there was the fire and Tsuzuki almost killed them both and...yeah...

And the getting of the Shikigami...

Okay, so maybe they had some _slight_ problems in the past about disagreeing and things of the sort, but they always made up in the end. And it was probably their understanding of each other that kept them from trying to kill each other, but they had a good system to work with. Tsuzuki would be an idiot, Hisoka would point it out, Tsuzuki would apologize, and they would act as if nothing had happened.

"Tsuzuki," Hisoka spoke up, breaking the silence.

It was almost invigorating for the peace and quiet of the office to desappear so quickly. Even Tatsumi looked up from some papers at the suddenness.

"What?" Tsuzuki asked cooly. He was really starting to get the hang of being mean to other people, even if he wasn't for sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. He would deal on that problem later.

"Can't we go somewhere out to eat tonight?" Hisoka begged, causing Watari to gasp. It even surprised Tsuzuki how much Hisoka's pride had been irrevocably damaged by that simple question. Of course, he would exploit this breaking of the pride at a later time _after_ he had his doughnuts and a month free of paperwork.

Tsuzuki sighed, trying his best to sound annoyed by this statement, even though he desperately wanted to say yes. "Of course we can't. Besides, you haven't finished your work yet, and if you don't get it done soon..." he trailed off, hoping that he had gotten his point across that he did _not _want to go out to eat.

Hisoka made a very convincing whimper that so like Tsuzuki's that he had to put a hand over his mouth to make sure that he wasn't the one who had said that. No one was doing their work anymore; everyone was waiting in anticipation to see who would win between the two. Most had their bets on Hisoka, Tsuzuki was sure, because he always won. But because Tsuzuki was now Hisoka, and Hisoka was now Tsuzuki, it was only right and fair that Tsuzuki had to win because it would be like Hisoka securing another victory and nothing would be out of the ordinary.

"I'll finish it eventually..." Hisoka muttered under his breath.

"No you won't, I'll just have to end up doing it like I usually do, and you'll just be sitting there eating your sweets."

That's right. Hisoka, to make a convincing Tsuzuki, would have to consume some sort of sweet delicacy. Which he hated to do, and that would force him to swallow his pride even more, which possibly might push him over the edge, and he would eventually be forced to give up! Yes, this was definitely in the bag! How could he lose? If Tsuzuki could already do paperwork, and Hisoka never did much of anything else, and if Hisoka wouldn't be able to even eat a cupcake, this was a simple victory.

"Just this once...?" Hisoka asked once more. He gave Tsuzuki a look that imitated Tsuzuki quite horribly, but it was still undeniably cute. However, Tsuzuki refused to have his will broken by this kid, and therefore he would not lose.

"No." Simple as that.

Hisoka made his look even more intensely cute, which was starting to break Tsuzuki down, but then he noticed something. A tear at the corner of his eye. Oh, that was very convincing, and to see Hisoka like that...

Tsuzuki gulped, trying to think of something to help himself out of this situation. Of course, he could find nothing to help himself. And he could've sworn that he saw a slight smirk at the corner of Hisoka's mouth. But when Tsuzuki did a double take, it was back to pitiful and helpless. This really wasn't going to end well for Tsuzuki if he couldn't resist the cuteness that was Hisoka.

"...Please...?"

Did his eyes get bigger?

"N-n-...no..." Tsuzuki stuttered; his response was barely audible, and Hisoka tilted his head to the left like he didn't hear it. "N-no..." he said a little more strongly.

He wasn't going to lose to Hisoka.** He **wasn't going to lose to Hisoka. He **wasn't** going to lose to Hisoka. He wasn't **going** to lose to Hisoka. He wasn't going to **lose** to Hisoka. He wasn't going to lose to **Hisoka**.

The Empath looked to be slightly amused by Tsuzuki's self-assurance. No mind-reading, that was part of their agreement, wasn't it? But how could he call him out on it? Oh, there had to be some way to beat Hisoka at this. This was all he had; Hisoka had no more tricks up his sleeves, he jsut couldn't.

He might be winning for now, but let it be known that Asato Tsuzuki never lost. Unless it was at a staring contest, because he always seemed to-

Asato Tsuzuki never lost. **Asato Tsuzuki** never lost. Asato Tsuzuki **never** lost. Asato Tsuzuki never **lost**...

**A.N.: This chapter took me two days to write, so it's a tad longer than the other ones (by 200 wd.). I would like to thank everyone who has been reading this story until now. It is a lot of fun to write, and I hope that I am funny enough for you guys. Hope you watch out for a new chapter soon...hopefully...if I remember to write...read and review! =D**


	6. The Cupcake

**A.N.: Yea! The summer is finally here, which means that I don't have to study for anything, which also means that I can write more fanfiction more frequentlier (new word I made up), and if I can remember, to update frequentlier. Oh yeah, I got to go to my very first anime convention, and I think that when I go to my next one, I will dress up as Watari or something . . .my sis might be Tsuzuki . . .FUN. So, here's another Hisoka-torturing chapter! Enjoy!**

It was only a matter of time now. Tsuzuki may have been ready for most things, but there was no way that he could hold up against Hisoka for much longer. In fact, it seemed that the older Shinigami was hitting his breaking point right now. Oh, it how it satisfied Hisoka to see Tsuzuki freaking out over who would win. It was inevitably going to be Hisoka, the cool, calm, and collected one.

"Please, Tsu~zu~ki?" Hisoka begged once more, trying to emphasize every syllable in the cutest way possible. He realized that everyone in the office was staring at him right now, but he couldn't care less as long as he won that bet. It wasn't a matter of not wanting to do paperwork anymore, it was a matter of his winning streak. He always won against Tsuzuki, thanks to his quick wits and sarcastic remarks, and he wasn't about to lose now.

"No. Now get back to your work," Tsuzuki answered, imitating a growl much like Hisoka would usually do at this point in the argument. He had to give Tsuzuki this- he was dedicated to win. However, dedication wasn't all that it took to be Hisoka. And because of that, Tsuzuki wouldn't win no matter how hard he tried.

"Can't we at least do something instead of being stuck inside the office?" Hisoka tried once more, trying to make his voice sound pitiful and annoying. It seemed to be working.

Watari and Tatsumi were watching this with wide eyes. Why was Tsuzuki denying sweets? Furthermore, why was Hisoka actually _begging _to go somewhere and eat? Tatsumi rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was seeing things correctly. Was Hisoka seriously giving Tsuzuki, the King of Puppyeyes, a run for his money. This was all too much too bear for Watari, and he promptly announced that he was going back to his labaratory. Tatsumi, however, was much too interested to continue with his work.

Who should he root for? Tsuzuki was, of course, the one that he would usually try to help. But if Hisoka was Tsuzuki, then who should be the one that he would offer his help with? But Hisoka always won, and Tsuzuki never did; it was only fair to help Tsuzuki because he was trying to be Hisoka, who always won, and Hisoka was trying to be Tsuzuki, who always lost, so Tsuzuki would have to win this argument to keep the ball rolling. "Ah, Tsuzuki, I wanted to give you this cupcake," he randomly improvised, after taking a cupcake from the dessert table.

Tsuzuki's eyes widened slightly, but he kept a stern face. "You really should keep sweets out of the office, Tatsumi-san . . ."

They both looked to Hisoka, who fidgeted slightly. Who would want that, that _thing_? It was messy; therefore, it would get crumbs all over the office that Hisoka would eventually have to clean up. They were also disgusting. Sweet things were okay, but not when they were smothered in frosting and covered in bitter sprinkles. That was just a recipe for disaster.

"Alright then. Kurosaki, do you want it?" Tatsumi asked, holding out the sweet object to him.

It looked revolting- the way that the pink frosting overlapped the vanilla cake, the unceremonious arrangement of sprinkles on top, not to mention the gaudy wrapper that it was in. Obviously, it was inedible. But Tsuzuki did seem to enjoy them. And therefore, by being Tsuzuki, he was forced to let out an almost inaudible whisper of, "Of course . . ." The evil pastry was handed to him, and Hisoka gradually peeled the paper off. This was certainly no chocolate bunny (1) . He picked up a single sprinkle and delicately placed it into his mouth. Who was he kidding? There was no way that he could carefully pick at it. One false nibble and it would all come crashing down. This would be a slight problem. Hisoka licked a bit of the frosting gently, the taste of strawberry filling his mouth. It was too sweet for the normally somewhat sour fruit. He twirled the cupcake slightly, licking off even more of the frosting. It was slightly irritating when a bit of the frosting got stuck on his cheek. He quickly licked that away, as well.

By now most of the frosting was gone. All that was left was the cake part of the cupcake. Hisoka took a small nibble at it, and he was slightly shocked that it wasn't nearly as bad as he would have imagined. In fact, it was the most edible part of the entire pastry.

After finishing the rest of the cupcake, making sure that his fingers were completely free of any reminder of what had happened, and dusting the crumbs off himself, Hisoka looked up at Tatsumi and Tsuzuki, both of whom had very deep blushes (2) . It was best to keep attempting the Tsuzuki charm, so he tilted his head to one side in a very Tsuzuki-like manner. "What?" he asked innocently.

Tsuzuki cleared his throat and grabbed another piece of paperwork. "It took you too long to eat that. You could've gotten a lot done in that time, idiot."

Oh. He did not just say it. Tsuzuki was obviously dedicated to winning this bet, especially if he would call Hisoka an idiot.

And he hated to say it. In fact, he winced just thinking about it. But Tsuzuki actually had a very convincing act going on. So convincing that Hisoka found it only right that he turn on even more of his cute appeal. He looked up at Tsuzuki with his large eyes. "Tsuzuki, I was really hungry . . ."

Got him. This act of awesome cuteness easily caught Tsuzuki off his guard. He looked ready to give up at any moment now. Yep. Any moment he would succumb to the ultimate cuteness. Any minute now.

"Get back to work."

**A.N.: Okay, my sister sort of forced me to work on this chapter, and let's all thank her for it. If you noticed the little (1) and (2), I'll explain them- (1) That came from one of my one-shots Chocolate Bunnies and Strawberry Blood. I guess that if you read it, it would make it funnier. (2) I was thinking about making a companion chapter with Tsuzuki's ideas about the meticulous eating of the cupcake. If you think about it, it could be sexual, I guess.  
If you want me to make the companion chapter, it may take longer, but I will. Just review and tell me. Thanks for reading!**


	7. The Frosting

**A.N.: I would like to thank those who asked for the companion chapter to "The Cupcake". I really am excited to see how this turns out, and whether or not I'm almost ready to write something a little more . . . less innocent than I usually do. I promise that I will hurry and get back to the regular story after this! Enjoy!**

"Ah, Tsuzuki, I wanted to give you this cupcake."

Was this some sort of sick joke? How could Tatsumi be so mean as to offer Tsuzuki one of his only weaknesses? If he were to take it now, he would lose that bet for sure, and he would definitely have to do Hisoka's paperwork for a month! He just couldn't do that! After having that horrible hand cramp by just doing one day's worth of paperwork, he might have to have his entire arm amputated if he was forced to do that much work.

And Tatsumi was definitely _not_ helping the cause. Tsuzuki was almost for sure that he was one of Tatsumi's favorite people, so why was he just spelling out disaster?

And it was with all regret and restraint that Tsuzuki was forced to utter, "You really should keep sweets out of the office, Tatsumi-san . . ." It pained him to even think about saying that, let alone actually letting those accursed words escape his lips. He wanted to reel them back in; he just wanted one tiny bite of the cupcake. That was all that was needed to satisfy him until he got home. And then he could eat all the sweets that he wanted. But then they had decided that they would have to stay together to make sure that neither one did something unlike the other.

Tsuzuki could've sworn that he saw Tatsumi smile slightly at the declining of the cupcake. "Alright, then. Kurosaki, do you want it?" Yes, that was the plan this entire time! Hisoka wouldn't be able to take the absolute sweetness of the cupcake. In fact, he looked ready to break just thinking about having to eat it. Which, Tsuzuki didn't see why he wouldn't want to eat it, but teenagers were pretty strange people.

Hisoka definitely did not look happy about this. No, not one bit happy. "Of course . . ."

How the mighty had fallen. Hisoka really had broken his pride just to win this bet, and it was evident now. The teen gingerly took the cupcake from Tatsumi and stared at it for a moment. Then he started peeling the paper off so delicately. Just seeing that was pretty cute, he would have to admit. And it didn't seem like Hisoka was really noticing that Tsuzuki was thinking this. He seemed to engrossed in the pastry to even think about his surroundings.

Hisoka pulled the cupcake close to his mouth, licking it carefully. It was just too cute the way that he did it. Hisoka did it once again, his eyes closing. He twirled the cupcake and licked it even more. It was then that Tsuzuki decided that he would enjoy to be that cupcake. He would enjoy to be licked like Hisoka, every bit of him feeling the warm sensation of his tongue on bare flesh. And he wished for more than just that- he wanted to kiss Hisoka. Tsuzuki wanted to have his tongue inside of Hisoka's mouth, to let their tongues touch, to explore the teen's mouth. He wanted Hisoka to breathe his name in such a way that he had never before.

Tsuzuki finally realized that he was a bright shade of red. He looked to Tatsumi, who was the same shade, but he was definitely not thinking about the same thing. Tatsumi probably just thought that it was inappropriate to do to a cupcake. Hisoka was finally finishing off the last of the frosting, and Tsuzuki once more thought about being the cupcake.

Now it was onto the cake part. Hisoka took a slight nibble at it, and a piece broke off easily. This led Tsuzuki to think about his partner once more, causing an even brighter blush. Why was he deciding _now_ to want to act upon his attraction for his partner in such a decisive part in the bet. If he were to give in to Hisoka now, there was no recovering. There would be absolutely no way for him to retract such a thing, and Hisoka would definitely win for sure. If he could just hold out a little longer, he would be fine.

Hisoka finished off the last of his cupcake, and he looked up at Tsuzuki and Tatsumi, both of which hadn't recovered from their blushes. He tilted his head to the side in an almost convincing Tsuzuki like way and looked up at them with his unnaturally large eyes. "What?" He sounded so innocent. He would have to come up with something to throw Hisoka off for just a little. Even if it meant that he had to say the it.

"It took you too long to eat that, _idiot_." It did pain him to say something so mean, even if it was just for a bet. Especially if this mean comment was directed at Hisoka, whom he hated to make upset. But this wasn't a matter of whether he wanted to do something or not, this was a matter of paperwork, and he just couldn't take another handcramp.

Hisoka didn't look very convinced from the insult. In fact, he barely looked scathed at all. "Tsuzuki, I was really hungry . . ." He said it with those eyes. They were just so . . . cute. And he might've thought it a lot before, but Hisoka really was cute. Every little thing about him was cute, even if he wouldn't admit it. The way he rolled his eyes whenever Tsuzuki did something stupid was cute. The way he flicked his pen every-so-slightly while doing his paperwork was cute. Even the way he told Tsuzuki that he was an idiot was cute, too.

But, no. He couldn't lose just yet. He couldn't. He would apologize for this later, but for now, he had a bet to win.

"Get back to work."

**A.N.: I wrote that chapter in a very short amount of time, but I usually do that with all of my chapters. That's just how I roll. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed it at least a little, and I will work hard this summer to update this story regularly. Also, I may even debut my first M sometime this summer, but I'm not for sure. Thanks for reading and please review!**


	8. The Spicy

**A.N.: Thanks to all those who reviewed on my last chapter, and I really like where this story is coming. I mean, it's gradually becoming one of my favorites to write. Anywho, I'm writing this next chapter from Hisoka's perspective, and I will be writing a companion piece for this chapter for sure. Basically, this chapter was a request from my sister, so if it turns out horrible, blame her and not me. Please enjoy the story!**

It was finally the end of the day, and Hisoka honestly thought that he might cry out of joy. He had never realized how much effort and strain it took to be Tsuzuki, and he almost had a newfound respect for his idiotic partner. Almost. In fact, all thoughts of sympathy for the man diminished after seeing him walking out, still attempting hopelessly to try and be Hisoka.

"Can we go out to eat _now_?" Hisoka asked again, trying to keep on the cute charm. If he could break him down now, there would be no need to stay together at night, and Hisoka would be allowed to lay in bed with a book instead of having to act like Tsuzuki when he sleeps.

Tsuzuki gave him a cold look unlike him. "Do you promise that you'll be quiet?" In all honesty, Hisoka would love nothing more than to be quiet, and he probably would've asked that kind of question just to shut Tsuzuki up. Someone had been being observant for once.

"Yes! Yes! I promise!" Hisoka energetically cheered, finding that it took a lot out of him just to smile like that all day. And they said that it took more muscles to frown than to smile. Hisoka scoffed at that theory.

Tsuzuki huffed an exasperated huffed and walked ahead. "Fine."

This was the moment of truth on Hisoka's part. Could he say it? Could he be Tsuzuki without a reasonable doubt?

"Sankyu!~" It was one of the only English words that he knew the meaning to, and Tsuzuki did try to say that often just to sound cute but it only ended up being annyoing in Hisoka's opinion.

His now stoic partner looked taken aback by this. Tsuzuki did keep his composure, however, and Hisoka did have to give him props for that.

"Tsuzuki, can we go to this _amazing_ curry restaurant? It's not far from here . . ."

Hisoka knew that Tsuzuki liked that restaurant just by reading his thoughts. And even though he detested spicy foods to no end, Tsuzuki was a big fan of spicy curry, so it was only natural that they go to a curry restaurant. And then a horrible thought entered into the Empath's mind.

_Spicy food is bad . . . Lots of spicy food is worse . . ._

If there was a moment for randomly freaking out, this was certainly the moment. Okay, Hisoka could take a couple bites of spicy food, and he might even be able to finish the plate if he was really feeling up to it. But to eat as much as Tsuzuki did with that much spice might just be able to kill him. Maybe that was a dramatic statement, but it would be pretty darn close.

The question about going to the restaurant obviously gained tsuzuki's interest, and he gave another huff and walked ahead. Perhaps he was really starting to get into character now.

The restaurant was actually quite pretty, despite Hisoka's hesitance to enter into it. And if they didn't serve such horrible food, it might be a nice place to just bring a book to read.

Hisoka looked to Tsuzuki, who seemed very excited about this whole thing. At least, his face didn't show it, but his emotions were overflowing with anticipation to try the curry. Unfortunately for him, Hisoka hated curry, so Tsuzuki would have to go for something bland and tasteless. It seemed to click in Tsuzuki's mind the same time that Hisoka thought that, because his emotions immediately gave off a wave of depression and sadness.

After receiving their meals, which in Tsuzuki's case was the tamest curry with a glass of water Hisoka's meal having the name of Dragon King. All he knew was that it was big and spicy. Two words that Hisoka hated almost as much as Muraki and heat. He too ordered water, seeing as how he didn't look old enough for any alcoholic beverage that Tsuzuki might normally consume.

Hisoka gave the curry a look of pure disdain before picking up a bit with his chopsticks. Oh, how we was so stupid to have even thought of this bet in the first place! Why had he let his pride get the better of his common sense. Having Tsuzuki not do his paperwork was definitely not as bad as an entire fleet of tastebuds being wiped out by one nuclear bomb of spiciness.

He was forced to take another bite, and his hand kept twitching in the direction of his water glass. He looked to Tsuzuki, who didn't seem very happy as well. But that was probably because he wasn't allowed to eat as much as he normally would.

_Trust me, if we could switch, I would._

But that would mean losing the bet, and Hisoka refused to do anything of the nature. He would rather his entire tongue be ripped out first than admit to Tsuzuki that he was wrong about something. Knowing Tsuzuki, he'd never let the matter drop. But knowing Tsuzuki, he probably would let the matter drop. He was just the type of guy to be right for one day and be done with it. Hisoka admired him for-

No! He could not start being nice to the enemy! He had to hold up until he won the bet, and then he could admire Tsuzuki's kindness. But not a minute sooner.

Hisoka took another bite of the dish from hell and could've sworn that he was going to die then and there. His afterlife flashed before his eyes, or was he just having delusions from the heat? There was so much left, not to mention the dessert that Tsuzuki always had with every meal. It was a ritual of his, and no one bothered to stop him.

After incessive piling of curry into his mouth, there was only half of the curry left. Hisoka knew that his eyes were watering, but he didn't care. He didn't care that Tsuzuki was staring with wide eyes with a smirk playing at his lips. And he also didn't care that his tastebuds were irrevocably damaged. Oh yeah, they were so gone.

_Just shovel it in, make it die. Just shovel it in, make it die, _Hisoka kept telling himself while he was trying to kill it. No matter what he did, it just seemed to grow larger with every tear-filled bite. Hisoka closed his eyes, and tried to force the rest in, letting a tear escape in the process. He took a long drink of water, draining the glass.

He looked up at Tsuzuki, who seemed generally worried. "What?" Was he really that much of a mess that it was painfully obvious that he did _not_ enjoy that meal?

"You're crying," he told him quietly. Hisoka realized that Tsuzuki's emotions were giving off the feeling that Hisoka was generally upset about something to be driven to tears. That was almost sweet.

"Ah, it was just so good that I couldn't help it!" he replied with a Tsuzuki-like excuse.

"You took almost an hour to eat that."

"I wanted to savor it."

Tsuzuki looked upset by the fact that he wasn't the one who was allowed to savor the curry. _And_, Hisoka thought, _you're lucky you didn't have to eat that . . ._

But knowing Tsuzuki, he probably would've enjoyed that meal. In fact, he probably would've asked for seconds. That was just the kind of guy he was.

And Hisoka was sure that he would have enough food in his system to last him for three days, maybe four.

**A.N.: That was a bit longer than my normal chapters, in my opinion. In fact, that was a fun one to write. I especially love trying to make Hisoka sound like Tsuzuki because it's breaking down his pride. I love tortuing him because he's so cute! Really, he is my favorite character! Hope you enjoyed that! Please Review if you can!**


	9. The Bland

**A.N.: I had my sister read through my last chapter, and she liked it so much that she wanted me to write a new chapter on the same night. I don't think that my body will agree with that, but let's see how far I can go! Please Enjoy!**

They were going to a restaurant! They were going to a restaurant! And he didn't have to even ask! And he didn't have to even ask! Life was really looking up for Tsuzuki. Dinner at his favorite restaurant with his favorite partner sounded very fun, but he was still sad about one thing- he wouldn't be able to get what he wanted to eat. Usually, he would want to eat something big and spicy, but Hisoka always ate the non-spicy and bland things so that he wouldn't burn his tongue or ruin his tastebuds, or something. He might've also once mentioned not liking the taste of spicy things, but that was nearly impossible to not like food. But then again, it was Hisoka, and he never liked anything other than peace and reading a book at home. He knew that because he read Hisoka's journal.

Hisoka had a colorful vocabulary.

But sadly, he had to eat some stupid bland food that only birds ate. And yes, birds needed a lot of food in order to fly, Hisoka had already told him that. But seriously? Can't it just be a metaphor and nobody decides to bash it just because they want to be scientifically acurate. Honestly!

It was such a pretty building, and the waitresses were really nice. It didn't take long at all to get their orders taken. Unfortunately, Tsuzuki had to ask for something disgusting and bland and tasteless that way he could be like Hisoka. It was hard being that high-maintenance! You had to do it exactly like this or exactly like that, otherwise Hisoka just wouldn't mess with it. He could be very stubborn sometimes . . .

Lucky Hisoka. He got to ask for the Dragon King. It would be really big with a lot of spicy yumminess and Hisoka got to eat it all for himself. He had to ask for water though because he didn't look old enough to order any sort of alcoholic beverage. And knowing their previous encounter of Hisoka and alcohol, it was a good call.

Tsuzuki glanced around the restaurant, taking in the delicious smells that surrounded him. He loved being in restaurants for many reasons, probably just because they all appealed to the five senses. You couldn't just make good food but have horrible scenery. It was inhumane, in Tsuzuki's opinion. Of course, Hisoka would argue to say that it didn't matter where you went out to eat, as long as the food's good, it doesn't really matter. You could worry about how the scenery looks at your house.

Only Hisoka would ruin an innocent thought like that. Speaking of which, Hisoka just loved to rain on Tsuzuki's parade. And it wasn't innocent raining. No, it had to be a torrent of insults and sarcasm that threatened to wash Tsuzuki away if he didn't hold tightly enough.

He didn't mean to sound mean or anything, but that was just the type of person Hisoka was. You couldn't sugar-coat it with someone like that- you just had to admit to yourself and then to him. But Hisoka probably already knew the type of person that he was. And frankly, he probably didn't care. He never asked Tsuzuki's opinion about something, even if he was trying to make a hard decision. Despite Tsuzuki's constant whining, Hisoka could also be quite annoying.

Tsuzuki was brought out of his pity party when their orders arrived. Tsuzuki's looked good and all, but it compared nothing to Hisoka's. It was steamy and hot and spicy and everything that a dish needed. He could've sworn that he saw the waitress mutter something like 'good luck' before scurrying off to serve other customers.

Tsuzuki played around with his food for a bit before taking the first bite. He had to admit, it tasted really good. Really, really good. But he had to savor it like Hisoka did. He always made sure to pick at his food carefully and precisely before every bite to make sure that the proper amount was on and that there was enough of everything there.

Hisoka was a picky eater. Tsuzuki had known him long enough to know the types of food that Hisoka would eat and the ones where he would wrinkle his nose up (cutely) in disgust.

Pretty much everything Tsuzuki liked Hisoka hated. Everything Hisoka liked was much too bland for Tsuzuki. Their opinions on things didn't work together, either. Neither did their personalities, but that was a given. In truth, they were nothing alike. So why did they work together as partners so well?

Tsuzuki took another careful bite of his food before looking to Hisoka, who seemed to not be enjoying his food. But how? It just had to be delicious! All those spicy, wonderful flavors mixing together to perform a wonderful symphony . . .

And he wasn't even enjoying it! In fact, he looked positively revolted every time he took a bite. That just wasn't even nice. Here Tsuzuki was, having to eat something so plain and boring that it had no flavor at all, and Hisoka had a perfect dish with tons of flavors colliding and uniting together. Hisoka's dish was exciting, and he wasn't even treating it like it was.

But how come Hisoka hadn't told him that he could read what he was thinking? Was he too engaged in his food to even notice?

If that was the case . . .

Hisoka could be mean and stubborn and sometimes even a bit selfish; he was reclusive and trusted nobody and never told anybody if something was wrong; he acted older than he really was and he pretended to know about things that he didn't have the slightest clue about. Hisoka could be pushy and possibly annoying at times. Hisoka didn't care what other people thought about him and he didn't want help from people. And he was sarcastic and rude and-

Was he crying? Was Hisoka really crying? Did he pick up on everything that Tsuzuki had thought?

Hisoka took a long drink of water and looked at Tsuzuki with a curious expression. "What?" Oh, now he was playing the 'I know what you were thinking, but I want to make you feel even more guilty about it.' He didn't play that card often, but when he did it only made Tsuzuki feel worse about what he had thought. He was just trying to get some things off of his chest! That was all!

"You're crying," he muttered, looking down at his plate. He realized that he looked worried, but only because he was. Hisoka's feelings were hurt because he had thought all those mean things.

"Ah, it was just so good that I couldn't help it!" He did sound very Tsuzuki-like, but that didn't help to hide how hurt he was.

"You took almost an hour to eat that." It was because he was trying not to show how much Tsuzuki's thoughts had affected him. Hisoka always tried to put up this big boundary between him and people. It never helped to keep Tsuzuki away, but what if this was the final straw? What if Tsuzuki had really crossed the line that time?

"I wanted to savor it."

A likely answer. Of course that would be the obvious reason, but that was only because he was trying to figure out what other mean things Tsuzuki thought about him. He was the worst, the absolute worst.

Then he noticed that Hisoka did not ask for seconds. Nor did he even ask for dessert. Was he that upset about . . .

The food was too spicy. Of course! Hisoka couldn't stand the pressure of the awesomely spicy Dragon King curry and the meal was able to bring out emotions of Hisoka that he didn't even know existed! This would be an easy win for sure!

All they needed to do was visit as many curry restaurants as possible.


	10. The Journal

**A.N.: Thanks to the many positive reviews that I have been getting recently, I have decided to write yet another chapter. Why? Because I just LOVE torturing Hisoka so much that I can't stop. That sounded so wrong . . . Any who, here is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!**

As they walked home from the curry restaurant, Hisoka couldn't help but look up at Tsuzuki every now and again. How that man was able to stomach that kind of stuff on a regular basis and actually _enjoy_it was a mystery. Nonetheless, it didn't spark any respect for him; Hisoka just thought that he was crazy.

"So, it's getting pretty late . . ." Hisoka muttered, looking at Tsuzuki with large eyes. Okay, so they were already large, but that made it all the easier to persuade Tsuzuki with. For once, Hisoka was thankful for his girlish features.

"So it is," Tsuzuki answered, glancing down at Hisoka. He was thinking that this would finally be the night where Hisoka would be _forced_to sleep at his house. And of course, Tsuzuki was excited.

Hisoka gave him a look that told him that the bet was being postponed for talking purposes. Tsuzuki immediately dropped his cold expression and attempted to relax his jaw. "They were right- it does take more muscles to frown than it does to smile. How do you pull it off?" he asked with his normally whiny expression. Hisoka sighed his normal sigh. It felt good to be annoyed.

"Whose house?"

"I don't think that it really matters . . ."

"Alright then, my house." If Tsuzuki wasn't going to make up his mind about something, Hisoka would have to do it for him. But then again, why would he want Tsuzuki anywhere _near_where he ate and slept and read? But then again, why would he want to be anywhere near where Tsuzuki ate and slept and did not read? Obviously, Hisoka's house was the better choice. For Hisoka. They were on Home Field. Which meant that Hisoka had the advantage for once.

Tsuzuki nodded in an excited manner.

"Alright. Deal's on."

The excited nod slowed down to a stoic bob of the head, and Hisoka tried to make his demeanor seem more cheerful. They walked together for a few minutes before stopping in front of a small apartment. Hisoka had to admit that Tsuzuki's place was more likely bigger, but small places were always nice. Sure, he was afraid of the dark, but he certainly wasn't claustrophobic.

Oh snap. Because Hisoka was pretending to be Tsuzuki, he had to do what Tsuzuki would normally do, which involved being forced to ask to sleep in the same bed. No, Tsuzuki would have enough common sense to be okay with sleeping on the floor. Because that was what nice people did.

Sleeping in the same bed was not a good idea for many reasons. For one, _way_too much contact. For another, Hisoka tossed and turned a lot in his sleep, which meant that he would push Tsuzuki out of bed. Which didn't really seem like a bad idea. In fact, that might actually work.

"Tsuzuki . . ."

"Yes?"

He was really starting to get good at sounding irritated. But that didn't matter because his emotions conveyed a certain excitement whenever Hisoka said his name. He just seemed ecstatic to be called on.

"Can we sleep in the same bed? Please?" He was going to be a better Tsuzuki, even to the grave. Again.

Tsuzuki's eyes widened before narrowing once more. His thoughts seemed to wrap around the fact that he knew that Hisoka did not like touching people in general, and since Hisoka dreamt a lot-

How did he know that?

Hisoka would never, _ever_tell anyone that he dreamt about Muraki so often. He would shoot himself in the head before daring to tell Tsuzuki. So how did he know this? The only thing that Hisoka told such intimate things to was his journal, but he kept that nicely hidden when he would take it to work to write in once he was finished with his paperwork. And then he would get up to get himself a cup of tea . . .

Invasion of personal privacy. Tampering with said personal privacy. Those were just two of the many offenses taht Hisoka could name off at that current moment. Didn't Tsuzuki understand the laws behind a journal and how they kept only the most secretive secrets? Did he comprehend that things were in a journal so that other people could not just get in a line and read it like it was a novel? Was he stupid?

Was that even a legitimate question? Yes, Tsuzuki was definitely stupid. If he didn't realize the concept behind a journal, diary, logue, or whatever he wanted to call it, than Asato Tsuzuki truly was an idiot.

"No. I don't want to sleep in the same bed as you."

Hisoka gave a slight whimper. "C'mon . . ."

"No."

"Please?"

"Will it make you be quiet?"

"It might . . ."

" . . . fine."

Thank you feminine charms. But just so Tsuzuki knew who was the winner in all of this, he grabbed out his journal and started writing. He wrote a bit more, then decided that he should accompany those words with even more writing. Eventually, Hisoka decided that this would get the point across about crossing boundaries and why not to read other peoples' stuff, secret or not.

"I'm going to brush my teeth," Hisoka chirped happily. And it wasn't fake happiness. He was genuinely zealous at the thought of Tsuzuki reading his journal. He walked out of the room, only to hide behind a wall where he could see what Tsuzuki was up to.

Tsuzuki looked around a couple of times before deciding that the coat was clear and made a grab for the journal. Oh, if only he knew. If only he knew what was going to unfold. And inside that journal full of words it read:

_Dear Journal,_

_I do so love writing in my most precious secrets to you. It makes me so happy that I can be sure that no one will read this later. I know that all of my friends and acquaintances at the office understand boundaries and therefore would not even dream of reading you. _

_Especially not Tsuzuki. Tsuzuki is so unlike everyone else. In fact, he is kind, considerate, helpful, cheerful, and everything else someone could want as a partner. Not to mention handsome. But Tsuzuki is also reliable and honest. He would never do something to anyone on purpose that would hurt them in any way, even emotionally. And I know that I can trust Tsuzuki with any secret. He wouldn't become impatient and read you. No, that might be something Watari would do, but not Tsuzuki._

_I guess that I love everything about Tsuzuki. Of course, why wouldn't I? I trust him with everything I have._

_But in that sort of reverence, there are a couple of things about Tsuzuki that really make me upset. Some of which include the following:  
-Addiction to sweets  
-Self-consciousness  
-Hypocritical_

_But most of all . . .  
-BEING A NOSY, IMPATIENT, INTRUSIVE, ANNOYING, AND NO-GOOD JERK WHO READS MY JOURNAL_

Tsuzuki was now very, _very_ pale. He knew that Hisoka knew, and Hisoka loved that. He looked up cautiously from the book and glanced over to Hisoka, who had decided to walk out at that moment from behind the wall. He wakled ever-so-sweetly up to Tsuzuki and got his face very close to Tsuzuki's.

"What'cha reading, Tsuzuki?" This question was so Tsuzuki-like that it was criminal.

"N-nothing!" Tsuzuki replied with a bit of a quiver to his voice. Now he was scared. Hisoka got even closer to him.

"Would that happen to be my journal? It looks an aweful lot to my journal."

Tsuzuki got up from the bed, the book behind his back. "Nope! Not your journal. You have a journal? I would have never guessed! Well, I'm going to go brush my teeth."

Hisoka let him run. This was payback enough. Honestly, that was more payback than Hisoka needed, but just seeing the guilt written all over Tsuzuki's face would last him for a very long time. And Tsuzuki definitely messed up his Hisoka-ness, but he would let that slide just for the night. Because in all reality, he was just too happy and too tired to care.

**A.N.: I had made slight mention about Hisoka's journal before, so I decided to add it. Also, I do not know what kind of place Hisoka lives in; I just guessed apartment since he probably doesn't get much of a paycheck. So, I finally made this chapter just to be nice to Hisoka, but I still plan on torturing both him and Tsuzuki later on. Please review and I hope that you liked it!**


	11. The Comfort

**A.N.: Really sorry for not updating in a while, but I have been working on another fanfiction and a novel that I'm working on at home so I really didn't find any time for this. But luckily, I saw the error of my ways and have decided to go on with this story.**

Tsuzuki wasn't dead. He actually hadn't been killed by Hisoka. He was so sure that Hisoka would've eliminated him after finding out about reading his diary/journal-thingy. Whatever Hisoka called it.

But no. He was not eliminated!

So, with an empty stomach and thumping heart, Tsuzuki climbed into bed, which he was forced to share with Hisoka. Not that he minded, of course, but he knew his partner well enough to know that Hisoka hated contact of any kind, especially when he was asleep. Because to Hisoka, that was when he was most vulnerable.

Sure, his logic was slightly twisted, and maybe he could be stubborn at times, but Hisoka really had been the best partner for Tsuzuki. Despite their differences, Hisoka understood Tsuzuki more than any other partner, and vice versa.

But it wasn't because Hisoka was an Empath. He had went through so much when he was younger, even being hated by his parents. He, too, was called a monster by people. No one wanted to be near him because they were afraid of him. Hisoka understood what it truly meant to be hurt. He understood what it meant for a heart to break into two.

Yet, Hisoka didn't want people to feel sorry for him. He wanted someone to care for him genuinely, enough to be able to push them away. Hisoka wanted someone who could be pushed away but still come back every time. Because, through all of his protests about touch and contact, Hisoka almost enjoyed it from time to time. He didn't ask for it, but it was an almost welcome sensation now. But not by anyone- it had to be Tsuzuki.

And Tsuzuki was proud of himself for that.

So he didn't mind just sitting there, watching his partner sleep. This was breaking the deal beyond any reasonable degree, but Hisoka wouldn't be awake to know, and Tsuzuki could just sit there for the entire night. He loved watching the even breaths of his partner, the way his mouth opened ever-so-slightly when he slept, the way he seemed so peaceful. It was a nice contrast to his normal attitude. The one where he hated everyone and everything.

But Tsuzuki liked that side to him, too. He would admit that he loved everything about Hisoka, even the more unfavorable parts, because that was what made Hisoka him. Without his stubborn behavior, he wouldn't be nearly as fun to hug, nor would it get the same reaction.

Hisoka mumbled something incoherent in his sleep. It was cute the way he did it. No one could imitate Hisoka perfectly, definitely not Tsuzuki.

He was so tempted to touch him, just to brush away a bit of hair from his face. He had soft hair that was just like a kitty. Saya and Yuma had agreed with him on that. He wanted to gently touch Hisoka's face just to see how soft his skin was. Ugh, Hisoka would beat him profusely for even thinking such thoughts. Good thing he's asleep.

Tsuzuki had considered it before, but he had always wondered what it would be like to give Hisoka a kiss on the cheek. He had first thought of it when they had initially met. They hated each other, but when it really came down to it, they worked as a team, helping each other without a second's thought.

Hisoka may have had a cold exterior, but he did care about people. At least he did about Tsuzuki. He had gone through a fire to save him, even when Tsuzuki had let him down. He had gotten hurt to save him, someone who didn't deserve it. He had cried for Tsuzuki, something that had never been done. Hisoka wanted him to exist just for himself. It might've been selfish, but Tsuzuki had never seen so much determination in Hisoka. He had broken down every wall that he had worked so long to build up just to keep Tsuzuki alive. Hisoka had allowed himself to be vulnerable for just a few minutes for Tsuzuki.

He didn't deserve it. Hisoka was better than that, but he chose Tsuzuki. They had both found a reason for living, each other. And right after that, Hisoka put up those same walls once more; he would no longer allow himself to be vulnerable for any amount of time.

Tsuzuki was fine with that. Even for just a split second, Tsuzuki had seen a side of Hisoka that the young Empath had never shown anyone else. It was almost comforting, really.

That was why Tsuzuki was just fine watching Hisoka sleep. He wouldn't have it any other way; he would never want another partner if something were to happen to Hisoka, which he couldn't even fathom.

Hisoka's breathing started to become irregular, almost erratic. He mumbled something in his sleep. He even tried moving, just to get away from something. And Tsuzuki knew who it was. He had known for a long time now about the dreams, but he hadn't expected nor did he desire for Hisoka to tell him about it. It was his own choice, and he wasn't ready.

Tsuzuki held Hisoka down to keep him from hurting himself. He hated to do this; he wanted to be able to help more than he was, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't make the dreams go away. And he would never be able to, not even after Muraki died.

Hisoka still tried to get out of Tsuzuki's grasp. He mumbled something quietly. " . . . zuki . . ." Without having to think, Tsuzuki already knew what he wanted to say. "Tsuzuki . . ." "Tsuzuki!"

Why he called his name while Hisoka had that nightmare, Tsuzuki wasn't for sure. A part of him also told him that Hisoka wasn't entirely sure, either. But he knew that Tsuzuki would protect him, and that was all that he had to go on.

"I'm here . . ." That was all he could say. Hisoka was never one for people muttering soft reassurances to soothe him; just knowing that Tsuzuki was there was probably enough reassurance for him.

Tsuzuki repeated himself again. He didn't want Hisoka to wake up. He didn't want to see someone so strong like Hisoka be broken down like that.

He would repeat himself as many times as it took for Hisoka to start to feel safe again. Because he didn't mind doing that for Hisoka. But only for Hisoka.

After several more simple phrases, Hisoka started to ease, his body almost becoming limp. His breathing hadn't completely slowed yet, but the nightmare was over. But Tsuzuki didn't dare get up. He knew that Hisoka was capable of having more than one nightmare per night. He hated how tired Hisoka always looked after a particularly bad night. But he never feel asleep at work, and Tsuzuki ventured to think that he didn't go to sleep any earlier, either.

But Tsuzuki didn't mind being with Hisoka every night, just to make sure that he wouldn't dream like that. He was fine with it.

**A.N.: Sappy, I know. But I just wanted to add something sweet like this into the story. It's sorta foreshadowing some humor and possibly a bit more romance. I just think that Tsuzuki would be sweet enough to do this for Hisoka, so I kinda wanted to add in the story that they care about each other. Hope you enjoy! Please review~**


	12. The Calm

**A.N.: Ha! I've finally hit the 30+ reviews mark! So, I'd like to thank all of my wonderful reviewers for their awesome feedback, and I'm really excited that none of the reviews have been negative! So, I must be doing something right! As such, I'd like to take a small break from the embarrassing comedy and work on something a little sweeter. You all are wonderful!**

For once, Hisoka felt calm. He knew that he was having another nightmare about Muraki, and he knew that he was afraid. But all at once, the nightmare ceased, and he heard calm reassurance. Not anything like those sweet nothings that lovers always whisper at night. No, this one was more sincere. Even in sleep, Hisoka could tell by the wave of emotions who it was.

Comfort laced with a hint of worry. It had to be Tsuzuki. He was always worried about others before himself, and he always felt a genuine pain when he saw others hurt. It didn't matter if he had just met this person, Tsuzuki wanted to help them.

He might've saw it as kind and caring, but Hisoka saw it as selfishness and hypocrisy. It wasn't straightfoward and obvious, but it was even worse than that.

Tsuzuki didn't want other people to share his burden, yet he wished to carry the entire burden of another on his shoulders. It annoyed Hisoka for many reasons, one in particular being that-

He wouldn't admit it. No, Hisoka would never admit something so personal, even if it was about Tsuzuki. Yes, Tsuzuki made him feel in ways that he had never felt before, but Hisoka wasn't completely ready to open himself up so freely. Tsuzuki knew it, and he didn't rush Hisoka, but his emotions conveyed something entirely different. He wanted to see Hisoka come out of his shell and finally tell people what he thought and what he wanted.

Hisoka felt the same about Tsuzuki. Maybe his partner wasn't as introverted as he was, but they still shared the same fatal flaw- neither wanted others to know what they were thinking. Perhaps that was what had made them such great partners, and perhaps that was the reason that Hisoka-

Even thinking it made him feel vulnerable. Hisoka hated being open to people because he was afraid of being hurt. Tsuzuki told him that no one would do anything of the sort, but it was all a lie.

What was worse was that Tsuzuki was the one doing the hurting. To open up to someone means that they also wanted to be opened up to, which Tsuzuki failed to do. Even in Kyoto when Hisoka cried every tear that he had for Tsuzuki, it still didn't change anything. They wouldn't have any talks about it, nor did they even want to dwell on Kyoto any more.

But they hadn't forgotten.

They had both had nightmares from Kyoto, and sometimes, on horrible nights that were all a blur to Hisoka, he dreamt that Tsuzuki had died in the fire. Those kinds of nightmares were even worse than the ones that Muraki had given him. Because he had never trusted Muraki.

But he had put every ounce of trust he would ever have into Tsuzuki. And he crushed it. By doing such a simple thing, trying to kill himself in a fire, had nearly broken Hisoka's will to live with it. Because for once, he had felt like he belonged somewhere.

When in all reality, he hadn't. It was painfully obvious when Tsuzuki was willing to leave him behind after all that had happened. Maybe Hisoka didn't always risk his life like Tsuzuki did, but it had been _he_ who had noticed when _his_ partner had been possessed by a demon. _He_ had been the one who allowed himself to be ripped apart just to save him. Tsuzuki had thanked Hijiri, but he had never once thanked Hisoka for it.

It hadn't hurt then, but now it was unbearable. And Hisoka had-

Even in sleep, tears threatened to fall. Hisoka only cried when he was truly upset. Or frustrated.

And Tsuzuki was good at frustrating him. But no matter how much he wanted to be angry at Tsuzuki for everything, for trying to abandon him, for giving up, he couldn't. Because he knew what Tsuzuki had gone through in life and in death, and it was his decision, but Hisoka hadn't forgotten to mention that Tsuzuki was the one who had made him feel emotions again. He had changed so much from their first meeting, the one where Hisoka had hated Tsuzuki, and vice versa. Now, they understood each other, even if they did occasionally annoy the other. It was their system that they had developed, and Hisoka felt calm with it.

Calm was something that Hisoka didn't have in life. In death, however, he had experienced a lifetime's worth of it.

He had also had his share of pain. Physical, yes, but mostly emotional. And for some odd reason, that made him even more calm. He had wondered why at first, but then Hisoka realized that it was because he was actually feeling something for once.

Hisoka knew that Tsuzuki was beside him. He was aware of his surroundings, but he chose to feign sleep. The reason was because he wanted to hear Tsuzuki talk to him. His voice was soothing.

"I'm here."

The voice almost gave Hisoka chills. He wanted to smile slightly, to let Tsuzuki know of his presence, but then he would never hear the end of it. He had already allowed Tsuzuki see him at his most vulnerable, what else was there to lose?

It was all because of this stupid deal? He had allowed his pride to get the better of him just to prove Tsuzuki wrong, and now he was in a horrible mess like this. It was at this sort of moment that he cursed his pride and wished that, just for once, he could allow Tsuzuki to win. Because when Tsuzuki won, they were both happy.

Amazing. That was a perfect word to describe his partner. Tsuzuki could do so many things, and he actually wanted to do it. He cared about people to no end, despite his hypocrisy. Everyone he met gave him some sort of impact on himself, and he always made sure to leave him mark, too. Hisoka wouldn't be the way he was without Tsuzuki; he just had that sort of effect on people.

Perhaps it brought out the best in people, but it could also bring out the worst. Hisoka's pride, for instance. Before meeting Tsuzuki, he wouldn't have dared make half of the sarcastic remarks that he usually did.

Darn him.

He heard Tsuzuki mutter those words one more time before truly drifting off to sleep.

And all too soon he was woken up.

"It's time to get up," a calm voice told him. For a second, Hisoka forgot about their deal and almost jumped when he heard another voice inside his house. But if he were Tsuzuki, he'd get to pretend to not want to get up, even thought he was already awake and wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.

"Don't wanna . . ." he mumbled, getting into character. He heard a large and exaggerated sigh, which Hisoka did usually do when he had to get Tsuzuki out of bed when they were on missions. Irony kills.

He felt the covers being pulled back, introducing him to the cold air that he hated. Hisoka bunched himself together, not even trying to keep into a Tsuzuki-like state. He was cold! "Stop . . ." he muttered weakly, trying to get back the invisible covers. Tsuzuki wouldn't be as gruff as Hisoka normally was when trying to get his partner up. For reasons unknown. (A quick look into his thoughts revealed that Tsuzuki thought that Hisoka was too fragile for that sort of thing.)

"Come on . . ."

Now he really didn't want to get up! Yes, they had to go to work today, but Hisoka didn't want to! He hadn't slept well, thanks to Tsuzuki. Actually, it was because of Tsuzuki that he had slept at all. Weird.

"No."

Hisoka was going to fight having to get up until he was dragged out of bed. Footsteps started walking away. Maybe Tsuzuki had given up, and seeing that there was going to be no way to get Hisoka up, had walked away. Hisoka shut his eyes together tighter to keep the light from bothering him.

Footsteps started coming back, this time close to the bed. He would not open his eyes, he would not open his eyes, he would not-

*Splash*

Hisoka shot out of bed when the cold water made contact with his skin. Even_ he_ hadn't thought of something so cruel to get someone up. And it was a large glass of water, too! He looked to Tsuzuki with a sincere face of shock and hurt. That was horrible!

And Hisoka hated getting wet. And the cold.

"Tsuzuki . . ." he muttered, too tired to keep his voice in check. There was no way of going back to bed now, considering that he was wet and he was awake.

He was shot a look that easily conveyed the emotions of not-caring and apathetic. Jerk. Hisoka got out of the bed, shivering slightly. He was more sensitive to the cold than most people were.

A wave of emotions of guilt and regret came at him, almost knocking him off of his unsteady feet. Oh, _now_ he decided to feel sorry. Well, it was a little too late. Now, he would have to take a shower, which he already did every morning. But it would be a warm shower.

He looked up at Tsuzuki, who was staring at the cup. That's nice- blame the cup for his actions.

But Hisoka was okay to put up with Tsuzuki and his antics. He didn't mind the cold water so much anymore. And he would take it as long as he needed to because he-

Because he loved him.

**A.N.: Ooh, I said the "L" word! Yeah, I went there. But I wanted to make an almost breakthrough with this story in sort of a celebration for my high number of reviews. This has been one of my highest reviewed stories of all time, and I really wanna stick this one out until I finish it. So, like I always say, hope that you enjoyed the story and please review!**


	13. The Shower

**A.N.: Once again, I will proclaim my thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed my story! Honestly, I think that this story is the best one that I've ever written, and I don't really know why, but I guess that I'm doing something right. So, I'm gonna try and go back to the funny for a while until I get into a sappy mood (which might not be too far away . . .) Enjoy!**

For future records, Tsuzuki did _not_ enjoy having to pour cold water on Hisoka, but it was the only way to get him up! His partner was usually a very light sleeper, but the being in character thing probably prompted him to try and stay in bed for as long as possible. Which was actually a pretty good idea. It was annoying having to be so stoic again, but it was worth it after last night. Getting to see Hisoka actually depend on someone, let alone Tsuzuki, was enough to keep him going for the rest of their bet. Tsuzuki now had the advantage- he had a reason and drive and determination to win!

So, Hisoka had said in a most-convincing voice that he was going to be taking a shower. It was kind of odd, both of them being in the same house, only a room apart, Hisoka taking a shower . . . Those were bad thoughts that he was having, and a normal Hisoka would've beat him for thinking such a thing! As such, Tsuzuki would not be a pervert for two reasons- one, it was slightly mean; two, Hisoka would never do anything of the sort. Because he was prim and proper and everything.

It was hard being like that! After getting to unwind the night before, it was proving quite a challenge for Tsuzuki to be able to be mean to the same person that he had comforted only a few hours before. He doubted that he would even be able to call Hisoka an idiot more than once, if any! At least Hisoka would _have_ to be in a good mood today, or it would break the bet, and Tsuzuki would get his doughnuts. He could almost taste those churros now. What would be better was if Hisoka could actually feed them to him. Being in a pleasant mood and saying kind things to him! Oh, and Hisoka could finally admit that Tsuzuki was competent enough to beat Hisoka in something. Better yet, Hisoka could still be feeding him churros whilst being in a pleasant mood and saying nice things to him and admitting that Tsuzuki was competent enough to beat Hisoka in something other than stupidity!

The sound of running water almost scared him, but then Tsuzuki remembered that Hisoka was the one who was taking a shower. So now he was obviously inside the shower, without clothes. He tried shaking the thoughts away to the best of his ability, but the same mental image of Hisoka without clothes and churros (?) couldn't get out of his mind. To some people, it was plain stupid, but to Tsuzuki, it was downright cute! Well, Hisoka was cute when he was normally dressed and without churros. It was just one of those cuteness enhancers.

Hisoka hardly had anything to eat, probably because he never really ate a lot. There was water, and some water, and look over there! Some more water! What was this kid, a goldfish? He was kind of boring like one, and he didn't really do much of anything, but Tsuzuki _didn't_ win him at a fair, so . . .

Tsuzuki eventually chose to go for a glass of water and a bottle of water. He would try to get out of Hisoka's eyeshot later and get something from somewhere. For now, though, he would try to do what Hisoka did and drink this for breakfast. Hisoka was always so alert during the day, and water was supposed to be really good for people, so maybe this might actually be quite sustaining until lunch. Which Hisoka hardly ever ate, either. He was going to starve.

Might as well get ready. Tsuzuki had taken a shower before he had gotten Hisoka up, and he had remembered to bring an extra change of clothes with him, so it was just a matter of getting dressed. But his comb for his somewhat unruly hair was in the bathroom. Where Hisoka was bathing. Without clothes.

No, the water was still running. He could just go in, grab his comb, and change in a different location. Hisoka would never notice that Tsuzuki had even stepped foot in the bathroom while Hisoka was showering. Speaking of which, they would definitely have to stay at Tsuzuki's house tonight. It didn't matter what Hisoka said, because he was Hisoka right now, and Hisoka always got to pick where they did stuff. Not _that_ kind of stuff, just like sleeping and everything. Not sleeping _together_, but in the general location when they were together. Not on a _date_, just a mission.

He opened the bathroom door quietly, checking to make sure that the water was still running, which it was. He didn't know if Hisoka knew if Tsuzuki was in there or not, but he figured that he didn't since he hadn't acknowledged it yet. Just find the comb, find the comb, find the freakin' comb . . .

Where was his comb? He was sure that he had left it right there on the counter! Well, he was also sure that nothing bad would happen if you put in a few extra capfuls of bubblebath, and Hisoka had made sure that his hypothesis was proved wrong. Then again, it wasn't really Hisoka's fault that bubbles had overflowed, but he really hadn't done anything to help clean it up. It wasn't really his mess to clean up, so that did kind of make sense in a way . . . Where was his comb?

As luck would have it, Tsuzuki had only heard the water stop once he had heard rustling around and the shower curtain being pulled back. He did an instinctive about-face, which, in retrospect, he probably shouldn't have done, because he turned around to Hisoka, clad only in a bath towel. It took a couple of seconds for Tsuzuki to remember that he was the master of his own body, and he quickly worked his mind for an excuse. _Yeah, I used your shower without your permission while you were alseep, so I put my comb with your stuff and went to wake you up. But then you wouldn't wake up, so I had to pour water on you. Then you went to take your shower, and I conveniently went in there to find it while you were showering. And it just so happened that I couldn't find it, and by the time that I had realized that the water had turned off, you were already here, with me staring at you unintentionally._

That didn't sound premeditated in the least bit! Hisoka would totally understand, because he was that awesome of a person, and he would totally forgive Tsuzuki for intruding on him at such a . . . personal time like that, and they would both be able to go on their merry ways. He still needed that comb, though!

When Tsuzuki expected yelling, he only got a slight growl. Hisoka was apparently forgetting their deal, but Tsuzuki figured that if he brought that up, he would come back out with one less finger than he started out with, and he was quite fond of his fingers. Of course, the matter wouldn't end there when Hisoka was involved. No, he had to make a big deal out of nothing. "What. The. Heck." He obviously didn't like people staring at him when he got out of the shower. Go figure.

"Yeah, I used you shower without your permission while you were asleep, so I put my comb with your stuff and went to wake you up. But then you wouldn't wake up, so I had to pour water on you. Then you went to take your shower, and I conveniently went in there to find it while you were showering. And it just so happened that I couldn't find it, and by the time that I had realized that the water had turned off, you were already here, with me staring at you unintentionally."

Honesty was the best policy, they said, but with the slightly murderous look on Hisoka's face, that was definitely the wrong choice of words in this kind of situation. He smiled lamely and looked back at the counter. Maybe, by the kind mercy of Hisoka, he wouldn't be killed, only mildly maimed. Then he wouldn't be able to go into work, but Hisoka would never let something like that keep him from work, so he would be beaten for nothing. Perhaps that was what would teach him the lesson. Pfft, yeah right.

Hisoka gave him a look that could easily be read as Tsuzuki's death sentence. He could almost hear the sad music in the background. But this definitely wasn't his fault! If anything, it was _Hisoka's_ fault for not using his Empath powers and noticing that Tsuzuki was there sooner! Yeah, that was it. Hisoka raised an eyebrow in response to Tsuzuki's wild imagination. "You said that I couldn't use my powers, remember?" That was true.

"Found my comb."

**A.N.: Oh, how I love to torture 'soka-chan! But then again, he'd look awfully cute in a towel, but I'm not so sure about the churros . . . Leave it to Tsuzuki to always add food into the mix! Well, I say this every time I write a new chapter, but please review! Again!**


	14. The Breakfast

**A.N.: Thank you once again to everyone who's reviewed on my story. To be quite honest, I figured that I'd get 15 or so reviews, and then I'd end up finishing the story prematurely. But thanks to all the wonderful reviews, I've made the story longer so that the bet's only been on for 1 day! Poor 'Soka-chan . . .**

Looking for his comb, he says. Right, so he chose _now_ to conveniently step into the bathroom while Hisoka was bathing? A likely story, and he had an almost believable alibi. And, if Hisoka hadn't just taken a shower to wake himself up, he would've probably fallen for it, but he did just take a shower to wake himself up, so he didn't believe it. So there.

Nonetheless, he forced himself to only allow his eyebrow to twitch in an annoyed sort of way. Honestly, his eyebrow twitch was involuntary, but it made him look annoyed, so at this current moment, it actually helped the current situation. Tsuzuki laughed in a nervous sort of way, the way he did when Hisoka caught him spending his paychecks on sweets. Come on! The man can hardly pay for a respectable trench coat! One Shinigami _cannot_ consume that much sweets and not gain weight and/or self-implode.

Hisoka could hardly even eat a cupcake without feeling horrible about it. He was quite thin, after all, and he chose not to mess that up. Then again, it was kind of hard to gain weight when he wanted to (for health reasons, usually), but cupcakes were still disgusting!

Tsuzuki then grabbed the said comb that he was looking for and bolted out of the bathroom. Only after Hisoka was sure that he was gone did he allow the blush on his cheeks to show itself. "Tsuzuki . . . just . . . saw me . . . !" he could hardly think it, let alone say it, so it was inaudible to anyone but himself. He knew deep down that TSuzuki hadn't meant to do it, and he really did have intentions of finding his comb, but he couldn't have waited? Honestly!

Speaking of which, what time was it? "Tsuzuki!" Hisoka called, trying to put a chipper tone to his voice. He felt a spike of fear in his partner's emotions, indicating that Hisoka still sounded murderous. "What time is it?" He heard a yelp from beyond the door, indicating that Tsuzuki, his good-for-nothing partner that couldn't tell time to save his life, had forgotten that Hisoka liked to be on time to work.

"Um . . . morning . . . ?"

Morning. Which time, Hisoka wanted to ask, but he knew deep down that the answer would not be to his liking, so he chose not to ask. Well, seeing as how they were going to be late anyway, Hisoka decided to let his hair dry normally. He quickly put on one of his usual outfits and walked out, feigning a smile. "So, Tsuzuki, what should we do today?" _Other than work_, he added mentally. But being Tsuzuki, he had to pretend that he wanted nothing more than to skip work.

"We should go to work."

_We'd be there by now if someone hadn't woke me up late . . ._ Yeah, Tsuzuki would be in trouble forever for that little mess-up. Which just came back to the fat that with Tsuzuki, assume nothing.

"Yeah, but it can get _so _boring!" He sat down at a small table for emphasis. Tsuzuki sighed with effect and sat down as well. He _said_ that he had needed a comb, but his hair was just as unruly as it usually was.

It was then that Hisoka realized that he was slightly hungry. Slightly. Unlike Tsuzuki, who could eat a bus full of cookies, Hisoka alawys drank a bottle of water before deciding if he truly needed something to eat. It was a good eating habit, and it did save him money. Although, because he was being Tsuzuki, wouldn't he want something more than a bottle of water? In fact, what surprised Hisoka the most was that he actually had an appetite after the Dragon King curry fiasco. Maybe Tsuzuki really was starting to rub off on him.

"I'm hungry . . ." he whined, putting his head on the table as a defeated effect. In truth, he just wanted to go back to bed. He felt Tsuzuki's emotions agree with him, but the man merely made an exasperated sigh.

Knowing Tsuzuki, he'd probably go buy a cupcake or something when Hisoka wasn't looking.

"Well, don't look at me."

"But I'm hungry . . . !" Worse case scenario, Hisoka would have to consume something spicy again, but if he could somewhat handle that curry from you-know-where, he could handle anything that Tsuzuki put in front of him.

Tsuzuki mulled over a response for a moment. "Do you want me to make you something?" He made his tone into a sort of annoyed 'this is my last resort' sort of way. That was actually quite normal for Hisoka to do.

Oh snap. Tsuzuki just offered to cook. That meant that Tsuzuki would be allowed in his kitchen. Tsuzuki, the man hat couldn't boil water without it burning. No. No, no, no, no, no, no. Never. Ever. Forever never. Ever.

"Sure!" Darn him having to be Tsuzuki. Because in normal circumstances, Hisoka would definitely respectfully decline the offer. Tsuzuki, on the other hand, always loved when people cook, mainly himself. Therefore, Hisoka had to go with the most Tsuzuki-like response, which would ultimately bring forth his untimely demise.

But wait! Hisoka basically had water. And other food usually, but it just so happened that _today_ was the day that he went shopping to stock up on food for the week. As such, there would be no way that Tsuzuki could make something with water and few other things. Along with herbs. Hisoka liked herbs . . .

Yep. He was screwed. But not if Tsuzuki didn't know that Hisoka had herbs to use. If that was the case, Tsuzuki could only use what Hisoka had _without_ the herbs, and it would make it only semi-horrible. He would probably be able to choke it down with ease.

A wave of excitement hit Hisoka. Tsuzuki was going to actually _enjoy _killing Hisoka. Now that. That was cruel and unusual punishment right there.

The sound of a pot coming onto the stove was like some trumpeteer playing the "Taps" at a funeral. Because this would be his grave. He heard the infamous rush of running water, the sound of a stove starting, and an annoying humming sound. Right, that was Tsuzuki's newest symphony that he had composed only a few days earlier. Hisoka silently prayed that lightning would shoot down from the sky and strike him where he stood- er . . . sat.

Unfortunately, no lightning came and smited him, so Hisoka was forced to sit there, impatiently waiting for his death. In all reality, it was much easier when he first died. The time when he didn't know who Muraki was, and he didn't know anyone named Asato Tsuzuki. And most of all, he didn't know that anyone could cook as bad as Tsuzuki did.

It was strange, imagining a world without Tsuzuki. The man had made such a quick impact that it was unfathomable to think that at a time, he didn't even know that someone as different as Tsuzuki.

Time sure did fly.

It seemed unreal how much that they had been through. Yes, it had been longer than a year, but Hisoka had never done anything even remotely close to that when he was still alive. When he was alive, it would've been an adventure to be outside for most of the day.

Hisoka felt comfortable around everyone. Perhaps that was why time had gone by so quickly. He had finally found a place where he belonged, with people just as strange as he was. They all had regrets like he did.

Tsuzuki was the best of all of them. Hisoka wasn't one for favoritism, but if he had to pick someone to be stranded on a deserted island with, despite all his complaints and negative remarks, it would be Tsuzuki. Maybe he would throw a rock or two at him, but Tsuzuki would definitely be his first choice without a minute's hesitation.

"Done."

No matter how hard he tried to sound unexcited, exasperated, and bored, Tsuzuki was very pleased with himself for making breakfast, and of course to him, it would be one of the best breakfasts that he had ever eaten. Hisoka, on the other hand, would start making funeral arrangements, even if he was already dead. Because if Muraki couldn't kill him, Tsuzuki's cooking could.

Oh, the food looked good on the outside. To be honest, it looked amazing on the outside. It was like . . . an island that was secretly inhabited by rabid monkeys. On the outside, it was beautiful, and you could see yourself living there, but once you got into the iterior, you find the swarm of rabid monkeys waiting to eat you. Yeah, this food was way more scary than a swarm of rabid monkeys. At least you didn't have to get your stomach pumped after facing off against the monkeys. Nope, they gave you a quick and almost painless death. The food, however, slowly ate away at your insides.

Yeah, it was that bad.

Hisoka hesitantly grabbed his chopsticks. How was he supposed to eat this? Follow up question- what exactly was it supposed to be? Common knowledge of Tsuzuki would tell you that it had to be some sort of 'dessert' that he had made, like an apple pie or a cupcake. With this, there was no telling what it was. An omelette? Toast? The burnt grease of bacon?

That was an appetizing thought. And if he wasn't hungry yet, that random thought easily cured Hisoka's hunger. He was positively hunger-free now, with good reason.

Nonetheless, being Tsuzuki, the human trash disposal, he would eat everything and anything. Oh, goody-gumdrops!

Sucking in his pride (and his stomach), Hisoka picked off a small bit. If he was going to be forced to eat it, he might as well eat it with grace and dignity. He opened his mouth carefully. Maybe Tsuzuki had finally made a break through! It was possible that he would finally cook something right! Could this be one of those odd cases where the food looks horrible but tastes incredible? If so, then Hisoka was willing to try it! The taste was ******

_Spit it out! Spit it out!_ Hisoka ordered his body. Of course, by the odd luck of Hisoka, who currently had the luck of a walnut, Tsuzuki's food must've had some sort of paralyzing effect, because it wouldn't respond.

_Horrible. Why did I try to reason with myself? Am I really that desperate?_ Hisoka started to question his place in the world, seeing as the food now had some sort of hallucinagen in it. Well, if he had to go out, at least Hisoka would be able to be in some sort of a daze so that he wouldn't feel it. Maybe Tsuzuki really was merciful. Did he think of this before-hand? Was he planning on killing Hisoka all along? Did churros really mean that much to him?

Wow, Tsuzuki had more guts than he had originally imagined. Hisoka figured that he would resort to sabotage, yes, but to actually go so far as premeditated homocide? Now that, that was pretty bold. A small inkling of respect from the Empath was earned, at the very least.

Maybe he wasn't going to kick the bucket. Fine, he was being a _little_ melodramatic. But still, Hisoka was very certain that he was going to be ill from this horrible experience.

Okay, he did in fact hate that horrid curry dish, but in their defense, at least they properly cooked their meals! With Tsuzuki, Hisoka couldn't tell whether it was too hot or too cold because his tongue was now numb!

And with one final grimace at the food, Hisoka politely (and quickly) excused himself to the bathroom.

**A.N.: Yea! An extra long chapter! Oh my goodness, I'm having so much fun writing this story that I feel horrible that I didn't update sooner. However, in my defense, I have had a lot going on lately. I got braces, so it's a lot mre painful than I expected, and since I'm currently drugged on Tylenol, I didn't really feel up to doing anything other than cuddling with my doggie. However, I'm feeling better, so I decided to update to my loyal reviewers! Speaking of, please review!**


	15. The Shopping

**A.N.: Reviews Reviews Reviews You don't know how much I reviews! They make me feel like I'm doing something right. Well, I know that I already posted a chapter about 12 hours ago, but I felt so compelled to, so I decided to write a quickie. Also, I've finally started a forum! It's basically a Descendants of Darkness one about the different hints in the anime/manga. You know, TsuSoka hints. Everyone and Anyone is free to mess around with it! Also, does anyone know a good beta reader? Sometimes my eyes decieve me when I'm writing something, so . . . yeah . . . TsuSoka-torture time!**

Sometimes, Tsuzuki surprised himself with his cooking abilities. This was definitely one of his new favorite dishes! He just hoped that Hisoka loved it just as much, and judging by the wide-eyed look on his face (probably out of surprise from Tsuzuki's mad cooking skills), he did.

But that didn't explain why Hisoka excused himself to the bathroom. Obiously, if something was so delicious like that, someone wouldn't want to brush their teeth immediately after their first bite. That would get rid of the taste, right?

_Unless . . . Hisoka wants to brush his teeth after every bite so that he can always get the same taste as the first bite! Yeah, that way his tastebuds are all clean and ready for another bite! Hisoka thinks of everything!_

Yeah, Hisoka was surprising. He thought of everything before doing it. It was weird how he always had a solution to everything that Tsuzuki would never even think of! Who would think to use peanut butter to get gum out of one's hair? But still, Hisoka had managed to get the gum out of Tsuzuki's hair with little to no injuries.

Hisoka walked out, looking quite pale. Paler than usual, actually. He also looked to be upset about something that Tsuzuki couldn't quite figure out. How could he be upset with such a wonderful breakfast? It was crunchy and gooey in all of the right places, and the way that it melted in your mouth was spectacular. Hisoka apparently didn't like that visual aid that Tsuzuki thought of, because he turned an even paler shade than before and once again excused himself.

Was Hisoka sick? No, Hisoka never got sick. He would scare the cold away before it could even get to him. He was also too stubborn to admit to a cold. Or any kind of sickness, for that matter.

Hisoka was pretty stubborn. The boy had all the book smarts in the world, but when it came to socializing, he had fewer skills than Tsuzuki, and when Tsuzuki told him about it, Hisoka was still too stubborn to admit to it. Therefore, he did nothing to try to help the situation, and nothing changed.

Hisoka came back, but instead of sitting at the table, he sat on the floor. Hisoka made sure that his carpets were nicely cleaned. Tsuzuki could almost imagine Hisoka in a cute pink apron and cleaning all day. Then, at the end of the day, he would sit down and admire what he had completed, whilst drinking sweet tea. With a bendy straw.

The thought made him smile, something completely unlike Hisoka. He couldn't help it, though! Hisoka was too adorable to not be imagined about, and he didn't even notice it. Well, maybe he did realize that he was cute, but he chose to ignore it. Saya and Yuma didn't cut him much slack, after all.

Hisoka grabbed a pad of paper and a pen. He started scribbling away on it with his too darn cute handwriting. It could be easily mistaken for a girl's, and Tsuzuki had first mistaken it for Wakaba's.

Boy, Hisoka had small hands. Tsuzuki had neer noticed that until now, but his partner had really small hands. And his wrists were like twigs, as Watari had observed. Not to mention his figure. It was just as pretty as a girl, minus the breasts, and if Hisoka wore more feminine-looking clothing, he would definitely be mistaken for a girl. Hisoka was also very short. Not too short, but pretty short when compared to Tsuzuki. And Tsuzuki wasn't too tall. So Hisoka was definitely short. Hisoka also had a girly face. He had soft-looking lips, and his skin was so soft. Also, his hair really was soft like a kitty's. (Saya and Yuma informed him of this). But what Tsuzuki loved the most were his eyes. They were enormous and green, like emeralds, but not just that. At first, they were so cold, like they didn't care about anything. That was when Hisoka didn't show any emotion at all. After a while, though, they eventually softened considerably, and now it was almost easy to tell what his partner was thinking about.

In short, Hisoka was very pretty.

"What are you writing?" Tsuzuki asked in a cold demeanor.

Hisoka looked up fro his paper with an almost child-like expression. "Grocery list." That did make sense, considering that Tsuzuki had pretty much used up all the rest of Hisoka's food. He probably went shopping every week. "Do you want to come?" he asked, trying to sound as excited as possible. When in all reality, Tsuzuki was quite certain that Hisoka didn't want Tsuzuki to come along.

"No."

"Please?"

Okay, Tsuzuki _really_ wanted to go. He wanted to see all the things that Hisoka bought on a weekly basis. Unfortunately for him, Hisoka would never normally go with Tsuzuki to buy groceries, so he would have to deny the tempting offer.

"No."

"But I need someone to carry the groceries . . . !"

"It's not like you haven't done it before."

"But because you made breakfast, I'm all out of everything! It'll be a lot more to carry now, so I need some help!"

Hisoka's large, emerald-like eyes seemed to peer into his soul. On the outside, they seemed to want Tsuzuki to go, but if you looked closely enough, his eyes read the emotion of 'if you even dare to come with me, I will burn every churro in this world to ashes. And, if that doesn't scare you enough, I'll also shred all of the recipes to make them.'

"Fine."

So what if all the churros and their recipes were destroyed? Tsuzuki got to go shopping, and he loved shopping! And to make it even better, he was shopping with Hisoka!

A fake and almost pained smile flashed on Hisoka's face before opening up the door. Tsuzuki walked out first, feeling Hisoka's keen eyes on his back.

Was there supposed to be cold chills today?

They walked for what seemed to be 10 minutes before stopping at a small and uncrowded market. Hisoka walked in first, greeting one of the cashiers. They seemed to know him, considering that he must be one of their only customers. How long had this place been in business?

"7 years."

Thank you. He really needed that one. Tsuzuki sighed deeply before following his shorter partner. They walked up and down the aisles, occasionally stopping while Hisoka compared prices.

Yeah, should he buy the eight pack of bottled water that was $4.00, or should he buy the twelve pack that was $6.99? Or, should he buy one eight pack and one four pack that cost $2.20? Or, should he buy the individual bottles that were $1.00 each?

"What do you think?" Hisoka finally asked. He actually seemed serious about this question.

"What do you normally get?"

"I guess that I'll go with the twelve pack." Hisoka reached out his hand to grab it but stopped. "What do you think about the mini bottles?"

Tsuzuki inwardly and outwardly sighed. It was official- Hisoka was even worse than shopping with Watari! "Just get what you normally do, alright? Won't that make things easier?"

Hisoka seemed to consider the idea for a moment. "I'll come back to them later." And with that, he ushered Tsuzuki ahead. _Please don't stop at the bread, please don't stop at the bread . . ._

"Whole-grain or white?"

**A.N.: Only 'Soka-chan would be this picky when it came to bottled water. So, I had to be a little harder on Tsuzuki in this chapter, but I might give him a bit of an advantage in a couple more chapters. Well, please review, and I hope that you look foward to the next chapter!**


	16. The Decisions

**A.N.: 40 reviews! 40 reviews! I have finally hit my long-standing goal of 40 reviews! I love all of you who have reviewed! So, let's try to make it 50. How does that sound? You keep reviewing, I'll keep writing. Yea!**

After making a very hard decision about what type of bread to buy, Hisoka finally settling on whole-grain, the two kept walking through the aisles. Hisoka, despite popular belief, wasn't picky; he just liked being correct when he bought things. Which is _exactly_ why he decided to stand in front of the fruit snack aisle.

Hisoka liked fruit snacks. And for the life of him, he couldn't decide whether to get Spongebob or Hello Kitty fruit snacks. Of course, the Spongebob ones had prettier colors, but the Hello Kitty ones had a much more neutral coloring to them. Hisoka didn't like colors that hurt his eyes to look at. Then again, the _entire_ gang of Spongebob characters were included in the fruit snacks, whilst the Hello Kitty ones only had Hello Kitty in a bunch of different scenes. But if he had to choose which show to watch if it were on, he would pick Hello Kitty, so that seemed like the logical choice to go for.

Hisoka picked up the box and examined it. He absolutely _hated_ it when he carefully picked out a box of Hello Kitty fruit snacks, and he came home and the box was messed up in some way. What was up with that? Did _anyone_ have respect for the well-being of a box anymore? Where was the common courtesy of people anymore? Seriously!

It seemed to be in good condition, but what was the calorie intake? Hisoka had a very strict diet like that. Not that he needed it, but he liked it when he had a well-balanced diet. Many would call him a perfectionist, but he called it careful planning.

Which is why he refused to eat candy. Okay, fruit snacks were a bit on the sweet side, and most of them had a bunch of sugar, which is why Hisoka made sure to check if they were sugar-free. Sugar made you fat. Example A: Tsuzuki. The man may have seemed like a stick on the outside, but eating sweets was never very healthy. And yes, he did exercise, but sugar only gave you a quick rush before you crashed, therefore not letting you finish your paperwork.

Hisoka casually looked up at Tsuzuki, who seemed upset or bored, or something. Hisoka couldn't quite figure it out, because he liked going shopping. Usually, it was by himself, but now it was a lot easier when he couldn't reach something, because he had Tsuzuki, who was 5' 10".

They walked some more. So far, they had whole-grain bread, sugar-free Hello Kitty fruit snacks, and Hisoka was seriously considering buying the twelve pack of bottled water. Eggs. He needed eggs. It wasn't like he made omelettes a lot, but it was helpful when he needed them in case of a emergency.

_Brown eggs . . . or white eggs . . . ?_ Why did shopping have to involve so many important decisions? Honestly! Hisoka always put his health on the line every time he went shopping. He had to make sure that the things that he bought weren't expired, and of course, to make sure that the boxes weren't tampered with. Maybe that was it. Hisoka hated having his stuff being touched. Especially when people didn't wash their hands before hand. Speaking of which . . .

_Germ-X . . . or Purell . . . ? _Hisoka always made sure that his hands were properly sanitized before he did his paperwork. Who knows who would touch it afterwards, and what if Hisoka had some sort of killer germ on his hand that only reacted when it made contact with someone else? But if he always used hand sanitizer, which supposedly killed 99.9% of germs (Hisoka seriously doubted those statistics), there would be no chance of the killer germ epidemic spreading through Japan, with him being the source of it. Now, some other idiot who _didn't_ properly sanitize their hands could start the killer germ epidemic.

So, Hisoka and Tsuzuki, who now had the whole-grain bread, sugar-free Hello Kitty fruit snacks, white eggs, and the Purell hand sanitizer, decided to head back to the bottled water. Hisoka was quite certain that he was going to go for the twelve-pack, only for the sole reason that it would make carrying things easier, but he still liked the look of the mini bottles.

If he got the twelve pack of larger bottles, he would probably only drink half of one for every meal, and if he had three meals a day, it would probably take him at least a week before he would have to go back and buy them, which was exactly what he wanted. He was always on top of things when it came to water.

Hisoka took a final look at his list before deciding that he was done for the week. He looked up at Tsuzuki, who still seemed unnerved about something. Tsuzuki met his gaze and looked like he was about to smile, but remembering that he was supposed to be Hisoka, didn't. Hisoka took that opportunity to smile lightly. Under normal circumstances, he would never smile to Tsuzuki, but for the sole purpose that he was Tsuzuki, we was literally _forced_ to. Sometimes, life could just be cruel.

Surprisingly, they had stayed silent the entire time. Of course, Hisoka would occasionally and without warning ask for Tsuzuki's advice about an item. They walked up up to the cashier, a young woman who looked to be 22 and this was the only job that she could get without a degree. Obviously, she was bored out of her mind, but she still looked up in acknowledgment. Hisoka had seen her before, but he had never been to her register, and he was glad for that.

"Paper or plastic, ma'am?" she asked in an almost monotone. Hisoka always got mistaken for a girl here, so it didn't really affect him any more.

"Plastic, please." The woman's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't make any sudden changes to her gestures, nor did she even offer an apology for her rudeness. She bagged quickly, though, but it irked Hisoka that she forgot to put the eggs on top. Seriously! Did anyone in this world have any common sense?

She rang up his total, and Hisoka paid for it. He handed one of the two bags to Tsuzuki, who took it quickly. They could've teleported home if it were nighttime, but they had been strictly forbidden by both the chief and Tatsumi to not use their powers in broad daylight whilst in the proximity of humans. Unless, of course, it was a life-threatening situation.

Because it wasn't, they walked home. "Alright, we'll go home and put the groceries away, but then we have to go to work. Tatsumi'll be mad either way," Tsuzuki said harshly. Hisoka gave a Tsuzuki-like nod and put hs head down slightly.

When they got home, Tsuzuki was quite helpful in putting away the groceries, and he was even gentle with the eggs. Hisoka nodded his head slightly, and Tsuzuki teleported them to the office, where Tatsumi seemed to be waiting for them. "You have a reason for being late, I figure?" It was more like a statement than a question, actually.

"We got up late," Tsuzuki said quickly. "Sorry to cause a problem." Tatsumi, like Hisoka, seemed to still be adjusting to the new and improved Tsuzuki who actually worked. Hisoka gave Tatsumi a quick glance before following after his partner. It was going to be another boring day, he figured, and that's why he came prepared with a crossword puzzle.

**A.N.: Chapter complete! Thanks to everyone who happened to read this chapter, and I honestly don't own Spongebob, Hello Kitty, Germ-X, Purell, and we don't have a chicken farm, so . . . I do own my vivid imagination! Yea! Please review and look foward to the next chapter!**


	17. The Battleships

**A.N.: Okey-dokey! Because of an awesome PM that one of my faithful reviewers has given me, I have seen the error of my ways in writing that sucky chapter. I'm terribly sorry to anyone else who thought that the chapter was horrible, but now I have been motivated to write a somewhat hopefully good chapter! Besides, every author have their bad days, right? Except for J. K. Rowling, she's just awesome.**

It was going to be another torturous day, Tsuzuki was almost sure of it. And he was always sure of things. For instance, he was _sure_ that if you forgot to put a "Wet Floor Sign" in the hallway after it had been mopped only minutes ago, someone was bad to slip on it. Hisoka had proven this hypothesis correct, and he had attempted to kill Tsuzuki afterwards, but he was still right! He was also _sure_ that if you put your paperwork in the paper shredder, you wouldn't have any done. Once again, Hisoka tried killing Tsuzuki. What was Hisoka's problem with logic?

Unfortunately, Tatsumi had confiscated the paper shredder after that fiasco, telling Tsuzuki that if he ever tried it again, he would never, _ever_ give Tsuzuki another paycheck for the rest of his afterlife. Which meant no sweets.

Hisoka got to keep his paper shredder. How come he got to keep it? And when Tsuzuki asked Tatsumi, the answer was 'simple'- "Kurosaki didn't try shredding his _paperwork_."

Tsuzuki sighed inaudibly as he sat down in his chair. It _used_ to be a spinny-chair, but when Hisoka had once gotten up and Tsuzuki had accidentally beat him twice with it while he was spinning in said spinny-chair, Tatsumi had confiscated that, too. It wasn't because Tsuzuki had hurt Hisoka in any way, he was sure; it was because Tatsumi didn't have a spinny-chair, and _everyone_ wanted a spinny-chair.

Even Hisoka had a spinny-chair. Only his wasn't confiscated. When Tsuzuki had asked about that, Tatsumi had answered that "Kurosaki hasn't brutally assaulted someone with his chair yet."

Grabbing a piece of paperwork and a pen that only wrote in black ink (Tsuzuki preferred purple ink), he set to work. Hisoka sat down at his respective desk and did _not _grab his paperwork. Instead, he had brought along one of those crossword puzzles that he owned. Did he honestly plan on working on a crossword puzzle the _entire_ day? Because if Tsuzuki were him (which he was), he would've been trying to make some sort of . . . history scene with different office supplies.

Hisoka looked up at that with a confused expression, and for a second, Tsuzuki was almost certain that he was going to be called an idiot. However, Hisoka put down his crossword puzzle and looked around his desk. He picked up a pen that wrote in blue ink and started scribbling away on a piece of paper. He didn't look to really be writing anything, just making a bunch of scribbles.

An artist he was not. After checking to make sure that his scribbles were in good condition, Hisoka grabbed out his pack of erasers. They were the pink square ones that Tsuzuki loved to play with. He then placed them strategically inside the blue scribbles. After that, he found one of his large packs of lead for his mechanical pencils that he never used and stuck one inside every eraser. After thinking for a couple of seconds, his large eyes wandered to his almost empty pack of tissues. Carefully selecting two or three of them, he ripped them into small bits and placed them down. He sighed deeply, as if considering what to do next. His small hand glided over the desk, considering what would be useful in whatever he was doing. He stopped at the pack of tape that Tsuzuki loved to use and ripped off very small bits. Okay, scribbles, erasers, lead, tissues, tape. What the heck?

Tsuzuki couldn't stop himself from watching. To heck with the paperwork, this was interesting! Even Tatsumi had stopped to stare at this little display, and when Watari had come up announcing something about his sex-change potion finally working, he was stunned as well.

Hisoka grabbed one of the bits of tape, applied it to the small strip of tissue, and wrapped it around one of the sticks of lead. His idea seemed to be working because he repeated the action on every eraser with a lead stick. Finally, he smiled proudly at whatever it was supposed to be.

"What. Is. That?" Tsuzui managed to ask. Hisoka's eyes darted towards him, expecting him to already know the presumably obvious answer. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

"It's a squadron of battleships," he answered matter-of-factly. Tsuzuki could sort of make it out now, but it was still crudely made. But for Hisoka, at leasat it was showing a _bit_ of creativity. The paper with the blue scribbles was supposed to be the sea, the erasers were the ships, and the lead sticks with the tissues wrapped around them were supposed to be the flags on the ships.

Watari couldn't help himself from laughing. Tatsumi, on the other hand, still looked confused. Whether it was because he still couldn't see it or the fact that he couldn't believe that Hisoka had actually made that, Tsuzuki wasn't for sure.

What was odd was that Hisoka actually seemed sincerely proud of what he had made, and Tsuzuki couldn't help but think that that was adorable. For one thing, Hisoka never smiled unless you did something completely stupid or he was really happy, and he was almost ecstatic looking. The same ecstatic look he got whenever Tsuzuki tripped and hurt himself or when he would fall down the steps or when he accidentally fell out of his chair after falling asleep at the office. For another, Tsuzuki had previously thought that Hisoka had the creativity of a walnut, the same one that he shared his luck with. But he had made something that resembled a 'squadron of battleships.'

On a normal occasion, Tsuzuki would have been positively delighted to see Hisoka make something as . . . original as he had, but by being Hisoka, he had to pretend that he hated it, which he didn't. "You wasted all those office supplies to make _that_?" he asked incredulously. Hisoka's smile, whether theatrical or not, fell slightly. He apparently didn't like the critique that he had been given, because he slowly started taking the flags off of his battleships. Watari wrote something on a piece of paper to Tatsumi, who snickered. Tsuzuki took a quick glance at the piece of paper.

Watari had drawn a picture of a sinking battleship, while another ship had a cannonball coming at the already fallen ship with the words "FAILURE" written on the cannonball. It was a funny picture in all honesty, if it hadn't been directed towards Hisoka's failure with the battleships.

Tsuzuki wanted to stick up for Hisoka, but that would've meant instant annhilation concerning the bet. And gosh darn it, he was going to get those churros if he had to learn to read people's emotions! This wasn't a battle for churros anymore, it was for the honor of actually beating Hisoka at his own game.

"Do you think that you can do better?" Hisoka apparently rebounded quickly. Tsuzuki inwardly choked on his soon-to-be victory drink. Of the two, he was definitely the more creative, but not when he was put under so much pressure. _This_ is one of the reasons why Tsuzuki was glad the he wasn't on some sort of Bomb Squad. The other was that he hated having to pick just _one_ colored wire to cut. What happened to the Reset button?

"Yes, but I'm not going to." Tsuzuki remembered having challenged Hisoka to something similar like this weeks ago. Only his reenactment of a rocket launching into space was _so_ much more dramatic. And awesome.

"Are you too afraid?"

Now Hisoka was just trying to best Tsuzuki in the creativity department. _No one _was capable of doing that. Not even Chief Konoe himself. It wouldn't hurt to prove who was the better reenactor, but Hisoka would never agree to this. As such, he would have to decline the offer. Hisoka smirked slightly.

"Chicken."

Okay, now he was being called an animal! And the only animal that Tsuzuki was remotely like was an injured puppy! Even Hisoka wouldn't be able to turn down a competition when he was being called a chicken. Not that Tsuzuki had ever resorted to name-calling other than 'meanie', but Hisoka still wouldn't let it stand!

"Fine. But when I show you who's the better, I hope that you remember." And with that, he grabbed the same materials that Hisoka had used. Only, instead of using just a blue pen, Tsuzuki also grabbed his dull black one. That way it would already look like they had started firing their weapons. He also made neat ripples in the water for effect.

After that, he started pulling off little chunks of the eraser, showing that they wre battle-worn. Some of the tissue strips were more ripped than others, and Tsuzuki had even drawn little skulls on them. He turned one eraser on it's side and tooko off about half of it because it was already a sunken ship.

By comparison, Tsuzuki's was obviously much more well-made. Not to mention more creative. Hisoka's, on the other hand, did not. Tatsumi and Watari both watched with the same expression- the one of 'why?'

Hisoka glared at Tsuzuki's, probably hoping that it would erupt into holy fire. No such thing happened, luckily. Tsuzuki wanted to gloat, but he knew that once the deal was off and he was lounging with his churros, Hisoka would beat him for it.

The Gushoshins walked in, stopping in their tracks to stare at the display of heavy weaponry. They were confused about a number of things- Why was Hisoka actually going along with this? Why was Hisoka even doing this? Why was Tsuzuki not crying out in joy? And what the heck was going on?

They, unfortunately, had no clue about the bet, so Watari filled them in breifly. One of them almost laughed, but his brother elbowed him before he could.

"It looks like Tsuzuki is going to win, but I wouldn't count Bon out just yet," Watari observed. Tatsumi inclined his head. It seemed that everyone knew about the bet now, and it was going to go down in history.

Tsuzuki tried to force himself to glare haughtily at Hisoka, but he didn't even know what that meant! Hisoka had such a large vocabularly that it was kind of hard to keep up with it sometimes! He still forced himself to squit like he was winning, but it probably only came out like the sun was hurting his eyes.

Hiskoa's large eyes seemed to widen even larger than yesterday, if that was even possible. That _had_ to hurt, right? His eyes seemed to waver for a moment, his lip suddenly quivering. This was too like Tsuzuki to even be possible, but what was he-

The green orbs seemed to fill with water and the lip quivered even more, and then- oh, he couldn't even prepare himself for this . . .

Hisoka started to cry.

**A.N.: We all know how Tsuzuki gets when someone yells at him or he loses at something, and I just had to torture Tsuzuki again. I really hope that this was better than the last chapter, and if it was or wasn't, please tell me! I hate thinking that I did awesome at something when I didn't. Hope you liked it, and please review!**


	18. The Anticipation

**A.N.: WARNING! IF YOU AREN'T PREPARED FOR AN ALMOST LEMON, DO NOT READ! IF YOU ARE, CONGRATULATIONS! YOU WIN!**

**Okay, so in preparation of AkuRoku Day, which is one of the best holidays, save for Christmas and Easter and my b-day, I totally forgot to update this story! Also, a lot of things have been happening lately. Some of which include getting invited to spend next summer visiting France, Greece, and Italy. So, yeah, TsuSoka tops all that. Besides, if I went, I'd miss the next anime convention. Pfft! No way I'm missing that!**

When in doubt, start crying. Tsuzuki always did it, so how was this a difference? It always seemed to soften up Tatsumi, and this was probably a WHOLE lot cuter than when Tsuzuki cried. And, for the record, Hisoka wasn't trying to soften up Tatsumi; he was trying to break Tsuzuki's firm resolve. Which, judging by his wavering emotions, was working.

It didn't hurt the cause to see his partner's face go from stoic and stern to . . . pathetic, really. Hisoka had him on the ropes now, all he had to do was finish up with a big killer!

He quivered his lip ever-so-slightly. More fake tears welled up in his now amazingly large eyes, but it was prudent to only let a few fall at once. Doing so, Hisoka realized that Tsuzuki looked quite defeated. But how could he not? Here Hisoka, the usually firm one who didn't cry was, for lack of a better term, bawling, over something that could mean less to him.

In all honesty, he _had_tried his best on his reenactment, and for a first attempt, he actually thought that he had done fairly well. Of course, he didn't really expect to be better than Tsuzuki. After all, that man _lived _to make those stupid scenes, but it did sort of slightly, only a tiny bit, barely anything, make Hisoka feel a bit hurt. Defeated, actually. More like kicked onto the ground and stomped on multiple times. But only a little, of course.

He sniffed once, making it as cute as possible. And thankfully, it did seem to work. Tsuzuki put up one hand as if to tell Hisoka to try to stop crying. He was obviously feeling absolutely _horrible_ about the entire thing. As well he should!

Okay, now that the fish was baited, it was time to start reeling in. Hisoka turned his head to the side like he didn't want to look at Tsuzuki. He felt a sudden spike of emotions portraying guilt and pathetic-ness, if that was an emotion.

_"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know that it was that bad . . . " Hisoka uttered softly, sniffing once more. He felt Tsuzuki's arm touch his shoulder gently, and then his other pulled the smaller Shinigami close. Tsuzuki took the arm that was on Hisoka's shoulder and pulled it around his waist. His face was now inches away._

_"It wasn't. In fact, I quite liked it." The voice was calm, so serene. It was something so unlike Tsuzuki, and yet, it made Hisoka feel so safe. He could feel his partner's breath on his neck. It was a warm, stimulating feeling that opened his senses to everything._

_Hisoka tried pulling away, only to be pulled even closer. It was something so protective, something so unlike he usually felt. He wanted to stay in his partner's embrace forever, to smell the sweet blend of pastries and a slight hint of cologne. It was a scent that only Tsuzuki had, and it was one that Hisoka was used to._

_Tsuzuki grabbed the younger's chin gently. It was tempting, but it was also patient. Tsuzuki didn't do anything unless Hisoka was ready. And, for just this once, he was._

_He allowed Tsuzuki to kiss him. It was simple at first, like an introduction. They pulled away for a moment, Tsuzuki's piercing amethyst eyes meeting Hisoka's innocent emerald ones. _

_Then, both fully aware of what was happening, Tsuzuki brought his lips to Hisoka's once more. This time, he inserted his tongue into Hisoka's mouth. It was strange at first, and Hisoka was close to pulling away, but the strong emotions of comfort and protection urged him on. Hisoka kissed back. It was wet and uncomfortable at first because he wasn't used to it. But slowly, Hisoka's body seemed to move on his own, and he deepened into the kiss, moaning out of enjoyment. Their tongues met, and as a cliche', were dancing some sort of foreign dance that only lovers could. However, a cliche'd moment couldn't be any better right now._

_He reached out and grabbed Tsuzuki's jacket, pulling on it slightly. Hisoka wanted more, something that kissing couldn't give him. It seemed to him that Tsuzuki had finally gotten Empathic abilities for himself, because he broke the kiss. He shrugged off his jacket and threw it nonchalantly to the floor. Hisoka was more hesitant, however. He unbuttoned one button of his shirt and stopped. _

_An endearing smile flashed across the older's face. "Do you want me to do it for you?" He was shocked to see Hisoka nod once, and he was even more surprised to see the young Shinigami hold out his arms in anticipation._

_Hisoka blinked once. For some reason, he felt so close to tears that it was horrible. Never more had he wanted something so much, and now he wanted to back out of it because he was scared. He didn't want things to happen the way they did with Muraki, how everything had ended so horribly. However, seeing that patient look on Tsuzuki's face reminded him that he was nothing like Muraki. _

_Tsuzuki had been patient this entire time, never once pushing Hisoka toward any certain thing. He hadn't urged any sudden emotions on Hisoka, and that had been one of the many kind gestures that attracted Hisoka so much to him. Which is why now, more than any other time, Hisoka wanted Tsuzuki to use force. Just this once._

_Taking an almost imperceptible breath, Tsuzuki reached out and unbuttoned another button. No one but Hisoka realized how fast Tsuzuki's heart would have been beating, if only it could. They had finally come to a mutual agreement about this, and he wasn't about to pass it up. Yes, he was afraid of hurting the boy. After all, he had been hurt so many times in his past life, but strangely, Tsuzuki could've cared less right now about what Hisoka wanted. He was going to be selfish, if only for a moment._

_After unbuttoning a few more, Tsuzuki gently opened the shirt to reveal pale, white skin. It was flawless, really. Tsuzuki bent close to his chest and kissed the skin lightly. Hisoka bit his lip lightly. It felt so good, so why was he so nervous? But he didn't flinch, nor did he turn away._

_Tsuzuki finally finished unbuttoning the shirt and, as tenderly as he could, ripped it off the boy's body. Hisoka's shoulders were so narrow that he was more afraid than ever about hurting him. He looked up to see Hisoka looking down at him, giving him the encouragement to keep going. _

_It didn't take long to get the pants off. The excitement was building in both of them, so much that Hisoka was afraid that he wouldn't be able to even make it. _

_"You really are beautiful, you know that, Hisoka?" Tsuzuki half-asked, half-stated. He said it like Hisoka wasn't usually sure about himself, which he wasn't. Tsuzuki understood every flaw and every insecurity that Hisoka had, which had led them to this. Trust had been the key element because Hisoka actually felt sure about this. _

_"Shut up and keep going." Maybe he was being a little impatient, but Tsuzuki only chuckled lightly. _

_Hisoka looked at Tsuzuki's pants, which were still on him, surprisingly, as was his shirt. "They'll have to go, right?" It wasn't like he was a pro at this like Tsuzuki was. He could hardly remember what Muraki's version of sex had been. Tsuzuki nodded, but he didn't reach out to do anything about his clothing. Instead, he held out his arms in a similar fashion like Hisoka did. Hisoka felt his face heat up, yet he still reached out and grabbed onto Tsuzuki's shirt._

_His hands were shaking, and he knew that Tsuzuki was well aware of the fact. Hesitantly, Hisoka started unbuttoning the buttons on Tsuzuki's shirt, much more awkard and less loverly-like than Tsuzuki had done. _

_Tsuzuki, however, thought that it was absolutely stunning. The shirt was unbuttoned quickly, and Hisoka only took a moment to steal a quick glance at Tsuzuki's exposed chest. He had thought of what it would look like, but he hadn't really imagined Tsuzuki to be so braod-chested, much unlike himself. _

_The pants, however, were a challenge all on their own. Hisoka blushed an even deeper shade of red and slowly let his hands make their way down to the belt. He undid it slowly, very unsure of himself, and no matter how hard he tried, Hisoka couldn't keep his breaths from coming out in short, ragged ones. His hands were still shaking, if not worse than before. He felt light-headed, and he was sure that he was going to give up right there. _

_It was only until he looked once more into Tsuzuki's eyes that he was certain of himself. He stopped being so self-conscious of everything, and by doing that, found that his hands stopped shaking so much. Maybe it was because he was just in an odd mood, but Hisoka even found the needed confidence to throw aside the belt as Tsuzuki had done with his jacket. Hisoka grabbed the zipper of Tsuzuki's pants and, despite all odds against him, unzipped them and undid them. He left the rest to his partner, he tossed it close to Hisoka's shirt. _

_Both Tsuzuki and Hisoka looked at the other's boxers, but Tsuzuki didn't hesitate to take off his, revealing what Hisoka never thought that he would see. Hisoka followed in suit, and found it strangely easy to do the same. He had long since forgotten his surroundings, and it started becoming increasingly easier to imagine this happening. _

_"Where?" Hisoka asked, feeling his cheeks flush once more from both embarrassment and heat. _

_"Wherever."_

_That was easier said than done. Wasn't there some sort of perfect location where they could . . ._

_"Relax," Tsuzuki told him, smiling one of his usual smiles. Hisoka sighed deeply and felt the tense feeling in his shoulders lessen. Perhaps all he needed was that simple word uttered from that simple man. _

_Tsuzuki picked up Hisoka with a pathetic ease and placed him gingerly onto one of the couches placed in there for the employee's convenience. Yes, this would certainly work as a convenience for them. _

_He was ready. It was a grueling and difficult process to make it to this moment, but Hisoka now felt completely ready for this. Tsuzuki planted a trail of kisses along his neck and down to his chest. _

_Hisoka breathed in quickly, feeling a rush of emotions hit him. He was sure that most were from Tsuzuki, but he wasn't really sure. The older Shinigami looked up at Hisoka, their eyes meeting once more. Tsuzuki's eyes were stunning, as was his entire body. _

_They kissed again, this time skipping the simple kiss altogether. Tsuzuki's tongue was allowed esy access into Hisoka's mouth, and the blonde couldn't help but moan once more. It was the way that Tsuzuki touched him that sent that sensation up his spine._

_Anticipation was rearing up in Hisoka, and he was almost impatient as to when Tsuzuki would really make a move. Once again, the stunning-eyed brunette seemed to become an Empath for a moment and he grabbed onto Hisoka's member. The young boy arched his back out of excitement. He hadn't really been prepared for this, but it wasn't unwanted._

_"Tsuzu . . . " Hisoka breathed, not even able to speak the entire name. He wanted Tsuzuki to make him moan again, to give him that same sexual pleasure as he did before._

_"Hisoka . . . "_

"Hisoka . . . Hisoka . . . !"

The Empath reared his head back when he heard the sound of snapping fingers and Tsuzuki staring right at him. It was the same scene before they had . . . which meant that they hadn't . . . ?

"You okay? You spaced out there for a second."

Hisoka breathed heavily and felt quite embarrassed and disappointed in himself for not making it last longer. He noticed that Tatsumi and Watari were still there, and they weren't there before. His face flushed one of his signature shades of red, and he turned the other way so that he wouldn't have to look at Tsuzuki.

Obviously, they were both clothed, neither of them were out of breath, and the couch wasn't in disarray. Which meant . . .

Which meant that Hisoka had imagined everything.

**A.N.: Hate me if you must! But just so you know, this was my first attempt at anything this lemon-y. And, I must say, I am quite proud of myself, for the most part. I will try, try, TRY to finish some sort of M some sort of time, but not now. Please review and look foward to the next chapter!**


	19. The Blush

**A.N.: Yea! Chapter! I feel really bad for not updating, and what's worse is that school's started back up. But, I do think that I managed to get a lot of chapters done over the summer, and I'm really happy that I met my review goal! Everyone's been so supportive of me that I love you all, and if you don't mind, I'd like to keep this story going for a while longer! You know, to torture Soka-chan!**

For some reason, Hisoka was blushing. And not just that, he hadn't looked Tsuzuki in the eyes for, like, two hours! What was worse was that when he accidentally did, he blushed even more and turned away really quickly!

Honestly, Tsuzuki wasn't sure if he had done anything wrong, but knowing Hisoka, he probably did. It was like that even when it wasn't his fault, it sort of was. Logic was twisted that way.

Never mind that. The first priority was to find out what was wrong with Hisoka! He had never acted so strange, and frankly, it was a nice change of pace from the usual grump that Tsuzuki had to work with.

Still, it was too strange. Yes, change was good every now and again, but not when it was so sudden! Come to think of it, before the whole 'blushing' thing had started, Hisoka had looked like he was daydreaming while Tsuzuki was trying to get his attention. Maybe it was something bad, and Hisoka didn't want to talk about it.

But if that were the case, then that was _exactly_ the reason why he had to figure out what had happened to his poor partner. Maybe, Tsuzuki had done something embarrassing and now Hisoka couldn't look at him right without thinking about it! That would be horrible!

Or maybe Hisoka had found out a dark secret from Watari, and he just couldn't think of Tsuzuki the same anymore. Because Tsuzuki did have a lot of secrets, and that would make sense. Besides, Watari was so loose-lipped that it wasn't even funny!

But what if-

No. That could never happen.

Maybe-

Couldn't possibly be.

Definitely.

Yes, Hisoka must be sick! Sure, the child could scare any enemy, but was it really possible to scare away a cold? And if it was, was Tsuzuki too much of a distraction for Hisoka to fend off that horrid cold?

Nonetheless, the older Shinigami decided to use every single cold remedy that he could think of. Then again, would Hisoka normally go to a great length to help Tsuzuki fight off a cold? No, he'd probably tell Tsuzuki that it'd make him stronger. Which, technically, it really wouldn't. In fact, it might do more harm than good.

And if Hisoka were to use cold remedies, what kind would he use? Knowing him, he'd probably pick something from long ago, because 'new doesn't always mean better.' Yeah, Hisoka was _that_ picky. Not that it was troublesome, but he could hardly work a cell phone right! Whereas Tsuzuki, on the other hand, took a class completely dedicated to texting. Also, Hisoka wouldn't let him text while walking, and he wouldn't even let him surf the net whilst working on his paperwork!

Tsuzuki had spent one entire paycheck on a cell phone. Needless to say, Hisoka was not happy in the least bit.

That gave him a great idea! Pulling out his expensive cell phone that Hisoka had threatened to throw to the wolves, Tsuzuki immediately started searching for cold cures in the Olden Days.

_Okay, miso soup and ginger tea. That doesn't sound too hard. _When in fact, in case Tsuzuki had forgotten Hisoka's reaction to his cooking earlier that morning, he had also forgotten that he couldn't cook to save his life. And Hisoka's, for that matter.

With that, Tsuzuki walked briskly to the kitchen, leaving his ailing partner at his desk, who was still blushing furiously.

_Alrighty, then, we don't have miso soup, but it tastes an awful lot like chicken broth! And we don't have any real ginger root, but we do have the tea mix. And I'm sure if you add something to it, there won't be much of a difference . . ._

It was obvious that Tsuzuki was determined to make this right, whether it killed Hisoka (again) or not! And, it would be the best darned meal he had ever eaten in his entire life (afterlife)!

If you had happened to walk past the kitchen, which was specially made for Tsuzuki's mishaps of cooking, you would most certainly have heard noises that certainly wouldn't be necessary to prepare chicken broth and ginger tea. And, had you happened to keep your ear to the door, you would've heard Tsuzuki deciding which seasonings would go best in chicken broth to make it miso-like.

In the end, he had decided to put curry powder in the miso, to give it a bit of a kick. After all, most people always ate spicy foods to help defeat colds, and for the ginger tea, Tsuzuki had picked lots of sugar to make it sweet, and then he added cinnamon, for good measure. Because everybody loved cinnamon!

Little did Tsuzuki know that the cinnamon and the cayenne pepper bottles were very close to each other, and they did look rather alike.

So, after fully preparing a delicious and wholesome meal, Tsuzuki paraded out of the kitchen, looking quite pleased with himself. Well, he would have paraded, had he not been pretending to be Hisoka, and he would've looked quite pleased with himself if he wasn't trying to be Hisoka. As such, he grumpily (or to his best ability) stomped (lightly skipped) to his ailing parner's desk.

It seemed that Hisoka had calmed down, at least, that's what Tsuzuki had thought until the Empath took one look at the older man. After that, he started that ever-so-cute blushing again. Which meant that his fever was getting even worse!

Placing the well-balanced meal down, Tsuzuki took another look at Hisoka, who still wouldn't make eye contact. "Here, you didn't bring a lunch, and you're looking bad." He huffed irritatedly (?) and sat down at his own desk, pretending to work on some unfinished paperwork. When in all reality, he was excitedly watching the younger's reaction to the act of kindness.

Hisoka seemed to balance something in his mind for a few minutes, and then he hesitantly took a bite of the soup. It was only hesitant because he was so sick! He sucked in his breath deeply because it was so spicy. Which was a good thing.

Had someone really known what Hisoka was thinking, they would've realized that _now_ Hisoka felt physically ill. And, on top of that, why the heck did Tsuzuki bring this, anyway? He was only blushing because of *ahem* _that_.

Perhaps it was because he was trying to wash the taste down, or maybe it was because Hisoka figured that no one, not even Tsuzuki, could mess up tea, but for whatever reason, Hisoka took a sip of the tea.

Tsuzuki watched impatiently, waiting for the immediate praise for his wonderful and helpful cooking. He was already starting his victory speech and patting himself on the back and everything.

Hisoka stood up, slightly off his balance. That was because his fever was so high, Tsuzuki figured. The Empath then excused himself to the restroom, probably because the fever was being fought off! Tsuzuki looked up, noticing Watari and Tatsumi shaking their heads. Watari mumbled something to Tatsumi, who nodded furiously.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Didn't he think?"

"I don't know."

Both of them were less talkative than usual, but that was only because they were shocked with Tsuzuki's mad skills.

A few minutes later, Hisoka walked back in, and much to Tsuzuki's surprise, looking worse than before! The young Shinigami gave Watari a glare, gaining a sympathetic look from the scientist. "You okay, Bon?"

Yes, yes he was. Because Asato Tsuzuki had saved the day once more!

**A.N.: Only Tsuzuki, right? Also, I feel totally guilty about torturing Hisoka like this, but we all know that he couldn't possibly cook this bad! So, I might do something mean to Tsuzuki later, and if anyone has any ideas, feel free to ask me! So, hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	20. The Baking

**A.N.: Okay, I know that I haven't written anything in, like, 3 months! But, honestly, a lot has been happening! And yeah, if I ever want some sort of professional career as an author, I can't really take such long breaks, but I plan to attempt to make it up to everyone! Please, please, please, do not hate me! (though if I were you, I would) Well, if you still love me, please enjoy!**

After throwing up what little bit of breakfast he could stomach, not to mention Tsuzuki's newest concoction (whatever that was), Hisoka officially felt like he had been run over, stepped on, and thrown to the sidewalk for dogs to eat his flesh. In other words, he felt sick.

Now, being ill was nothing to be ashamed about, and even as a Shinigami, it was still possible for their bodies to get run down, therefore making them feverish; but when one is taken down by someone's cooking, that is quite deplorable. Although, it was _Tsuzuki's_ cooking, so exceptions had been made for that sort of illness.

But still! It was just pathetic that someone could cook that bad! And, what was worse, Tsuzuki didn't even notice! If anything, he probably thought that he was being a _help_ to Hisoka by cooking for him. Ha!

"If I wanted to lose weight, maybe . . ." Hisoka fumed, warily sitting down at his desk. He had one of thsoe sinking feelings that he would be getting up and down throughout the entire day, mainly because he would be ridding himself of Tsuzuki's . . . cooking.

Unfortunately, that would mean leaving another horrible taste in his mouth. And Hisoka hated anything horrible or disgusting. It was one of his few hatreds in life. Come on, he only had 157! For living a life like he did, he should have at least 300! But, he had taken anger management courses (per request of Tsuzuki), and had narrowed dow his list significantly.

And on that list read a few of the following:  
_Muraki  
Darkness  
Tsuzuki's Cooking  
That Horrible Taste You Get In Your Mouth After You Throw Up_

All of those hated things were completely understandable, but the last one to the highest extent!

Seeing as such, Hisoka grabbed out his handy travel-sized mouthwash and headed to the bathroom again, completely intent on minty fresh breath to follow.

And it was inside the bathroom, whilst he was gargling, that he realized one very important thing: If he should have to suffer, being Tsuzuki right now, why shouldn't Tsuzuki, who was trying to be Hisoka, who usually suffered in the first place? Yes! It was a brilliant (slightly evil) idea! After all, Tsuzuki should get a taste of his own 'medicine.'

Sure, in his own Tsuzuki-like way, he was probably trying to help, but because he was in fact Hisoka right now, Tsuzuki shouldn't have even attempted to care about what other people were thinking.

"Watari, I'm using the kitchen!" Hisoka 'cheerfully' called to the scientist. The kitchen, as rumor had said, was made specifically for the soul purpose of entertaining Tsuzuki. However, seeing as how he always gave his new recipes and experiments, he was ultimately banished indefinitely. With a restraining order. Forbidding him from walking within 200 feet of the kitchen. Which, in all reality, was kind of hard, considering his desk was quite close to the kitchen.

Oh, well!

Hisoka walked inside the kitchen, examining the glossy counters and pristine condition of which it was in. But not for long . . .

Expertly grabbing two bowls, a whisk, a spatula-type thingy (Hisoka wasn't good with utensil names), and a spoon (those are always used in baking, right?), Hisoka set to work. He didn't really want to get his outfit ruined, nor did he really want to wear the gaudy pink apron that told people to 'Kiss The Cook.' However, seeing as his outift cost more than the humiliation of wearing the apron, he tied it on reluctantly. Peering inside the refrigerator, Hisoka was delighted to see that it was stocked full of needed necessities for 'Killer Cupcakes', as he had just then deemed them.

Hisoka had never been one for baking, and he actually didn't know the first thing about it (hence the naming of the spatula-type thingy), but it really didn't matter right now because he wasn't actually trying to bake something edible! It was merely revenge in the form of deceitful, colorful pastries hell-bent on ravaging Tsuzuki's intestines.

Oh, the irony of it all!

"Eggs. Eggs are needed in cupcakes. Eggs are good. I should use eggs," Hisoka instructed himself. He had found that walking himself through a problem like you were leading a child was a surprisingly effective process. Heeding his baby-talk, the young Empath reached once more into the refrigerator, pulling out the carton of eggs. Normally, two eggs were what a normal recipe called for, he recollected, but seeing as this wasn't a normal recipe, five sounded like a good guess.

"How to crack an egg . . ."

Well, it was a good enough guess as any to smash it against the side of the bowl, Hisoka figured, doing as such. Unfortunately, some of the shells had gotten caught in with the yolk, and it made for a very bad look.

Although he did want to slightly torture Tsuzuki, Hisoka really didn't want him to accidentally swallow a bit of egg shell, thus slicing the lining of his throat, therefore causing eternal bleeding, in which the blood would rise in his throat, ultimately drowning Tsuzuki in his own blood. Yeah, that was a _bad_ idea. So, he meticulously picked out the shells, throwing them into the trash bin.

Next was flour. Hisoka grabbed a nearby measuring cup, filling it with two cups' worth. That really didn't sound too out there, so maybe he had chosen to give a bit of grace on that bit.

"Baking soda? Maybe?" Truth was, Hisoka was very confused. Even though Tsuzuki couldn't cook to save his or anyone else's life/lives, he could at least make a slightly presentable-looking dessert. Which, honestly speaking, Hisoka wasn't even sure if he could manage to do. Nevertheless and despite his uncertainties, he put half a cup of baking soda in, for good measure. And if it didn't belong in there, it wasn't that ample an amount. Maybe Tsuzuki wouldn't even notice it . . .

Did one put cinnamon in cupcakes? Yes? Eh, what the heck! Hisoka put in a teaspoon (or four) in there, just to add a kick. After all, he was a particular fan of cinnamon, so maybe he could at least get one thing right!

Besides, these things weren't supposed to taste good. They were meant to teach Tsuzuki a lesson in baking. To not to.

If that was the case, then why did Hisoka care about messing up? It certainly wasn't the idea of disappointing Tsuzuki; no, that was preposterous. It was probably just the prospect that he might not be good at this. Yeah, failure was never his biggest fan.

After putting in a couple more unnamable objects, using his whisk to stir them together, using his spatula-like thing to pour them into the cupcake molds, and taking a test taste with his spoon (good thing _Tsuzuki_ would be the one to eat them), Hisoka placed them in the oven to bake.

How long should they bake, he wondered. Twenty five minutes sounded like a good enough bet. Degrees? 350? Sure!

Truth be told, a tiny bit of Hisoka felt the slightest bit of guilt for doing such a cruel thing. It was undeniable that Tsuzuki meant no harm, so why should he be punished with such horrible treats? Okay, Hisoka's self-confidence needed a slight bit of a boost, but whatever! It just didn't seem fair.

Still, he wouldn't be the one eating them, so it shouldn't bother him so much . . .

Hisoka took another lick of his taste-testing spoon, grimacing at the cinnamon-y taste.

**A.N.: This is sort of like a two-part chapter, and I hope that the other part will be more Tsuzuki-centered! Well, I really hope that you all enjoyed, and I plan to write more either tonight or (hopefully) sometime soon!**


	21. The Cinnamon

**A.N.: Alright-y then! I am forever grateful for all of you for giving me the most reviews that I've ever had for a story. Funny enough, the previous chapter originally gave me a total of 67 reviews, but I look at my stories today, and I see a whopping 81. I'm all like, What? So, I check, and I'm very happy to say that I have another fan of my story who commented on most, if not all, of my chapters! You know who you are, and you're awesome!**

Bored. That was a perfect way to describe the wonders of doing paperword. Bored, boring, been bored, will be bored. Point was, paperwork was dull and uneventful. And for the most part, Tsuzuki wasn't even for sure what he was supposed to be doing! He figured looking over the documents carefully then signing his name at the bottom (if there was a line for that at the bottom) would be sufficient, but Tatsumi was even more picky than Hisoka. Which was scary.

Speaking of, where was his partner? Hisoka, even pretending to be him, was never late for anything. It might've killed the Empath to be late for any sort of meeting, and while paperwork wasn't a meeting, he still hated to be late!

At least there was no one to nag Tsuzuki about his paperwork. Which, in all reality, was the best kind of day, but when Tsuzuki had to pretend to be Hisoka, that meant a very boring day. Because he'd actually have to fill things out instead of looking out the window all day. And there were so many eventful things outside!

But seriously, where was Hisoka? It had been quite a while since Tsuzuki had seen him, and the farthest corners of his brain got the slightest bit terrified should something have happened. Hisoka wasn't very strong, and he didn't have a Shikigami (R.I.P. Rico), so he was pretty much defenseless. That was just asking for something bad to happen! Not to say that Hisoka wasn't careful about everything that he did, but one could never get too comfortable. Anywhere!

Maybe Hisoka had went to the kitchen. That could be it. Unfortunately, before he got up, Tsuzuki remembered that he wasn't allowed near the kitchen, let alone inside it. His hopes of finding his partner were dashed, but then he remembered that he wasn't actually Tsuzuki today, which meant that Hisoka was always allowed inside the kitchen, which meant that he was allowed inside the kitchen! It was perfect, really!

With his spirits raised once more, Tsuzuki practically marched happily to the kitchen, intent on finding his partner. And he noticed that Hisoka was just then walking out of the kitchen. The Empath noticed Tsuzuki and planted a fake yet cute smile on his face. "Tsuzuki, I'm glad I caught you! I wanted you to try something!"

How sweet! Hisoka had been in the kitchen all morning making something just for Tsuzuki. It was probably a thank you, seeing as how he had made such a wonderful cold remedy for Hisoka earlier. But because he was Hisoka, he had to put on a frowny face instead of the thankful smile that he would rather make.

Hisoka had made cupcakes. Frankly, Tsuzuki didn't even know that he knew how to make them, but apparently they did, and they looked . . . Well, not all food has to look wonderful. After all, it was the contents inside that really counted. Tsuzuki picked up one carefully, not wanting to break it or disrupt it, but he still managed to keep his cold and uncaring face. Hold on, Hisoka never, not even as Tsuzuki, made cupcakes. He absolutely hated cupcakes! Tsuzuki knew that for a fact, because the teen hated any sort of sweet, and that was, like, the pastry prince! It was just below the cake and the pie! Which, Hisoka hated both, but that was for a different story!

Now he really was skeptical. It was quite odd for this sort of behavior, and that was what slightly unnerved the older Shinigami. Hisoka looked up at him with an almost hurt expression. "You'll eat it, right? I worked all morning to make them!"

Alright, he really was adorable. So adorable, in fact, that Tsuzuki couldn't help but feel bad for hesitating for so long. He wanted to reassure his partner eagerly and eat the cupcake right then and there, but he knew that Hisoka would never do that, and they were still having that bet! Doughnuts were just as important as the pastry prince! "I might."

"Then eat up!" Hisoka chirped. Tsuzuki noticed a slight grimacing expression after the young Shinigami said that, so he obviously didn't like the action of chirping as such. Still, it was really cute to see him do that.

Did he smell cinnamon? Yes, that was most certainly cinnamon. It was the unmistakable scent of cinnamon, definitely. Cinnamon was a fun word, Tsuzuki then figured out. It was spelled so strangely, and it had three syllables. Words with three syllables were usually fun words! Like, Hisoka. Or Tsuzuki. Or Watari. Or Tatsumi. Or Konoe. Not Muraki. Or Hijiri. Or Maria. Sorta Tsubaki. Used-to-be Mitani. Or Suzaku. Or Byakko. Or Wakaba. Not Hajime.

See. Three syllable words were usually fun. Moving on, it was definitely cinnamon.

Breathing in slightly, Tsuzuki took a hesitant bite of the cupcake. It was rather moist, kind of crunch in some parts, good texture, excellent cinnamon-y flavor. All in all, these cupcakes rocked!

"I have to say, these are pretty good." Not just pretty good, really good! Hisoka's cooking rivaled Tsuzuki's, and that was saying something. Strangely enough, though, the blonde tilted his head slightly and look kind of miffed.

"Huh?"

"I know I don't compliment things often, but these cupcakes are really good, Hisoka. The cinnamon adds for a good flavor."

"Huh?"

Why was he so shocked? Obviously, these were the awesomest cupcakes ever! Hisoka was just so humble sometimes. And honestly, it was so refreshing sometimes. What a humble person, his partner was.

"Huh?"

**A.N.: Yeah, I know it was a pretty short chapter, but I just needed to get it out of my system. Still, it was fun writing, and even though 'Soka-chan's my fav character, I just can't seem to stop torturing him! I have the strangest way of loving things, don't I?**


	22. The Turning Point

**A.N.: Okay, I'm working towards the 100 review mark! So, yeah, I'm deciding to work some more on this story!**

Watari decided that it was time for an intervention. This stupid bet had been at a stalemate long enough, and as much as he loved Tsuzuki, Bon really was the logical choice for a winner. Because, if Tsuzuki got doughnuts for a whole month, that would mean that Tsuzuki would get everything sticky, and that would make the lab equipment useless! So, he decided to come up with something that would most assuredly make Bon the winner!

It might've taken him three hours, but it did manage to work, he was sure. "Ah, Tsuzuki. I'd like to give you something to help you be more and more like Bon!" Okay, maybe Watari wasn't the most convincing person when it came to winning, but it would have to do, at least! "See, this will most definitely make you the winner, and then this whole stupid bet'll be over, right?"

Tsuzuki nodded slightly, taking in the bribe. "Well, I would like to be able to be me again, but are you _sure_ that it's not another sex change potion?"

"For sure."

Despite knowing that it was quite foolish to trust Watari and his odd potions, Tsuzuki decided that it wouldn't hurt to at least test the 'surefire solution' to this bet. He nodded reluctantly and was given an odd vile with a green liquid inside of it. "What _is_ it?"

"A potion to make you like Bon. Now, I know that I shouldn't be taking sides in this thing, but I think that it is in your better interest if you so choose to take this potion. I promise that no ill-fortune will befall you. Not too much, at least."

"I didn't catch that last part."

"Probably for the better."

Choosing not to question that last statement, Tsuzuki uncapped the vile and took a hesitant sip of the now bubbling liquid. It made a burning sensation in the back of his throat, forcing the purple-eyed Shinigami to cough some of it back up. "It burns!"

"Keep drinking. All of it. Every last drop."

Taking a quick breath of air, Tsuzuki finally took another large gulp of his drink. Tears formed in Tsuzuki's eyes as he wiped his mouth of the sediments left over. "Okay, so now what is supposed to happen?"

_You'll know when it takes effect._

"But _what's_ supposed to happen?"

Watari raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say anything, new Bon." _So, is it working?_

"I'm not sure!"

The scientist turned and started to walk away from his newest subject. "I'm still not talking, but it would seem as if it's starting to work. I'm actually relieved, because I wasn't quite sure if it was actually working. Luckily, however, it seems to be a success."

"What's a success?"

_I really am a mad scientist, aren't I? Oh, Watari! You're such a scoundrel!"_

"Should you really be saying that?" Tsuzuki asked, feeling a dreadful sense of fear start taking over him.

"Are you even close to figuring out what I gave you?"

_I'll give you a hint- you can hear my thoughts, just like this. If this isn't enough information, then you really are dense! Well, I'll see you later, new Bon! _With that, Watari walked back to his lab with a smirk playing on his face.

"Does that make me a-"

Hisoka walked up behind Tsuzuki and threw his arms around him. "Found you!" he cried, excitement seeping from his voice. _I cannot believe that I am actually hugging him like this! How far have I really fallen? Honestly!_

"You've just lost!" Tsuzuki cried, feeling a sudden sense of happiness shoot through him.

Hisoka's beautiful green eyes shot up at him. "What do you mean?" _What is this idiot even talking about?_ The words seemed to meld together, repeating in a horrible echo over and over; a surge of anger shot through Tsuzuki's core. His heart seemed to fall into his stomach, a chill taking over him.

"You called me an idiot!"

The blonde's brow furrowed together in confusion. "No, I didn't." _What is he, reading my mind?"_ The room started to spin, forcing Tsuzuki to sit down in his chair, holding his head. Hisoka hurried over to him, eyes filled with concern.

"Tsuzuki, are you okay?"

A warm shot of concern filled Tsuzuki's body, and he looked back up at Hisoka's beautiful face. His porcelain skin brushed gently against Tsuzuki's face. "Tsuzuki?"

And then Tsuzuki realized why he could hear thoughts and emotions. To be more like Hisoka, he realized, meant that he would be an Empath. The room stopped rotating, and the Shinigami's mind finally stopped overflowing with all those words. Hisoka seemed to have caught on to Tsuzuki's discomfort and had backed off on his emotions. "Are you alright?" he asked once more. Tsuzuki forced himself to nod.

"Y-yeah. I'm Empathic, aren't I?"

To be honest, the idea itself was actually a bit frightening. There was no way to turn off what he read, which was probably the scariest part. Hisoka nodded and placed a gentle hand on Tsuzuki's shoulder. "From what I can tell, it'll only be temporary. But still, you're getting the full treatment. Don't worry. The room stops spinning after a while. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Thank you." Now, Tsuzuki wasn't quite sure why he was actually saying that, but he knew that Hisoka deserved to be thanked. Obviously, the teen was just as confused as to why Tsuzuki had said that.

"For what?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

The two were silent for a few seconds before Hisoka turned to Tsuzuki with the slightest of smiles. "You know, I would _never _thank you. But I'll let it slide, I guess."

Maybe, Tsuzuki thought, it wouldn't hurt to throw the bet, just for Hisoka. He didn't really need those doughnuts, after all. But, as he watched Hisoka stride away, thinking, _It's only a matter of time, Tsuzuki. Kindness will be your downfall . . ._, he realized something.

Screw it.

**A.N.: Okay, this chapter was extremely short, but I really needed to just update this one, and it will help for later chapters. Thanks for reading and following me, even if I don't update often! Hope you enjoyed, and please review!**


	23. The Anticipation 2

**A.N.: A very big thanks to the two people who reviewed on my story, and I'm sure that I didn't have as many reviews as usual because, well, I hadn't updated in so long. And, to answer the question that one of my reviewers asked me, Watari gave Tsuzuki the Empath potion so that Tsuzuki would want to stop being Hisoka and give up on the bet. Because, as I'm sure we're all aware, being an Empath must NOT be fun.**

Being Hisoka, Tsuzuki was forced to immediately go back to his paperwork, even if his head did feel like there was a spike being driven through it. He cursed himself for even letting his pride get the better of him like this, though, he had to admit, it gave him a whole new perspective on how hard Hisoka's life was. Now, he felt, he could probably better relate to the poor little guy.

Tsuzuki loudly groaned at his stack of paperwork and grabbed the dreaded pen from his partner's nifty collection of writing utensils. He picked a pretty black one with a metal thingy on it. He wasn't really exactly sure what it even was, but the point was that it looked really cool. He popped it against the desk to start working. Tatsumi walked past his office and stopped to enjoy the joyness of Tsuzuki actually doing his work.

"Ah, Tsuzuki. How's the bet going?" he asked, placing down another pile of paperwork in front of the spent Shinigami.

"Lousy. Hisoka just won't trip up!" Tsuzuki didn't raise his voice, but it did happen to go an octave higher than normal. He figured that that would be Hisoka's version of exasperated yelling. Tatsumi smirked and sat down in a vacant chair beside Tsuzuki.

"You know, Watari's rooting for Kurosaki-kun. However, I do think that his resolve is weakening. It could be quite possible that he is starting to actually pity you." Tatsumi handed him a piece of paper and walked out, bumping into Hisoka. "Excuse me, Kurosaki-kun."

Hisoka sat down in the chair that Tatsumi had just gotten out of. "Hi, Tsuzuki! I've missed you since the past fifteen minutes." He glanced up sadly at his partner, working his perfect charm. "So, I was wondering what Tatsumi was doing in here . . ." He trailed off and stole another gaze at Tsuzuki once more. "I just mean, you know, you're not getting any outside interference from anyone, are you?" And for a split second, Tsuzuki was certain that he saw a glimmer of sneakiness in his partner.

"What about you and Watari?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Hisoka shot back, eyes hardening slightly. Honesty swept over Tsuzuki, and he knew that Hisoka was actually telling the truth. As much as he hated to admit it, Hisoka was playing a fair game and planned on winning this bet fair and square.

Taking a quick sigh, Tsuzuki glanced down at the piece of paper and was fully ready to start working on it when he noticed, written in Tatsumi's wonderfully neat script, a note that would most certainly give Tsuzuki the upper hand.

_Kiss him_.

Okay, maybe Hisoka didn't intentionally get any outside interference, but neither had Tsuzuki. It wasn't like he had asked Tatsumi to write the little help. After all, it wouldn't assure a perfect win, only to even up the odds. That wasn't actually cheating, right? Tsuzuki wasn't bending the rules, and they hadn't written out a list of specific rules that they were and weren't allowed to do on this bet. So it wasn't cheating.

_"Hisoka, I need to tell you something." _

_The blonde glanced up warily at his partner. "Hmm?" he asked in a sing-song voice. That voice was enough to send him over the edge, to grab him in a rush and pull him into a kiss. Hisoka gasped quickly but soon softened into the kiss. _

_It was something sweet, completely innocent; but Tsuzuki knew that he desired more. He pushed Hisoka against the walll and deepened the kiss, not stopping to even get a quick breath of air. The teen shivered gently but didn't pull away. Finally, he parted his lips slightly, allowing the older Shinigami to push his tongue inside. He explored Hisoka's mouth with the deepest of interest. Tsuzuki's tongue slided across Hisoka's, feeling the soft touch._

_"Tsu-" Hisoka cut himself off, closing his eyes. "Tsuzuki . . ." He said the name so softly, so carefully, like he was almost afraid to actually say his name. The said Shinigami grabbed Hisoka's waist and pulled him towards the couch._

_Once there, Tsuzuki worked on slipping off Hisoka's jacket and then his shirt. He fumbled messily with the buttons intentionally. Hisoka took a quick gulp of air and reached forward to grab onto Tsuzuki's arm. He didn't pull away or resist; he pulled on his partner to lower himself and started to undress Tsuzuki. _

_Hisoka was no tease. He worked quickly to remove the jacket and then started to mess with his dress shirt. First, he unbuttoned his sleeve cuffs and loosened his tie, using that as a apparatus to pull him closer._

_The two were shirtless in a matter of moments. Tsuzuki let his eyes gaze ravenously at Hisoka's exposed chest. The teen's porcelain skin felt so soft under his touch, so warm, even if Hisoka's heart hadn't pumped blood in years. Hisoka's breathing started to speed up when Tsuzuki placed his lips onto the flesh. They lingered there for a whie before Tsuzuki sat up and started to unbutton his pants. His fingers were moving too quickly and haphazardly, prompting Hisoka place a gentle hand to steady him._

_It seemed that in a matter of seconds, Tsuzuki felt all of Hisoka's emotions run over him like a waterfall. He felt fear, and love; pain and trust. But most of all, he realized, want. A sort of avarice that could only be fulfilled by Tsuzuki's touch. _

_Tsuzuki undid the clasp on his pants and looked expectantly at the blonde. Hisoka glanced down nervously, a blush completely shadowing his face. After a few seconds under Tsuzuki's gaze, however, he complied and started to undo his jeans. Once done, Tsuzuki glanced his partner over again, taking in every little perfection that he could find. He wanted most of all, however, to see those Cursed Markings, those beautiful red lines which made a gorgeous contrast with Hisoka's skin. _

_The two met eyes, Hisoka's green orbs wavering with the slighest hint of embarrassment. _

_A wave of lust overcame Tsuzuki, feeling the sudden urge to take Hisoka right there, without any sort of grace. He wanted to hear Hisoka cry his name a thousand times, to feel the teen tremble at his touch, to be inside of him. He wanted to know every bit of Hisoka, every secret that he tried to keep. He wanted to expose them, to make them his. _

_And then, Tsuzuki decided, he quite possibly did have a demon inside of him._

_He lunged forward, satisfied at the cry of shock from his young partner._

_"Tsuzuki!"_

"Tsuzuki."

"TSUZUKI!" Hisoka shouted, becoming his characteristic self of quite mad. Tsuzuki shot his head up, fighting off the immediate blush on his face and only hoping that Hisoka didn't pick up on any of that. Especially that last part.

He reread the handwritten note once more and decided that kissing would not be the best idea to win the bet. It was however, the best idea if he wanted Hisoka to put a restraining order against him.

**A.N.: Some day! I WILL write an M someday! It will be sweet yaoi lemonade! Alas, today is not the day. Please review, and I hope that you enjoyed this!**


	24. The Possible Ending 1

**A.N.: I LIVE! Yes, I know I probably have, like, _no_ followers for this story, and I know that this is really mean of me to just end the story here; but I'm writing three alternate endings for this story (and I'll let you choose which one you want to believe happened). I'd make excuses, but I'm mostly focused on working on my GLEE fanfiction! I don't own Yami no Matsuei, by the way . . .**

_Ending 1 - Point for Hisoka_

It wasn't supposed to happen like this. No, Hisoka wasn't supposed to see that! And, really, Tsuzuki could only blame Watari for strolling into the office with a box of pastries in his hand. There were Danishes and doughnuts and (of course), churros and muffins and cupcakes (Hisoka would like that). It wasn't Tsuzuki's fault that he got overly excited whenever sweets were in the premises. It was in his nature, and everybody knew that!

So it definitely _wasn't_ Tsuzuki's fault that he might've gotten a little ''dog-like'' and stood in front of Watari expectantly, practically _begging_ the blonde scientist for even _one_ measly muffin. Watari only laughed and, forgetting the deal for a moment, gave Tsuzuki the largest doughnut in the box.

It was sweet and lovely and cream-filled. There was a chocolate glaze on the outside, and Tsuzuki could care a little less whether or not he was getting chocolate all over his fingers and white oxford. In a matter of seconds (which seemed so much longer), the doughnut gave its final 'hurrah' and allowed the Shinigami to finish it in one large bite. And it was so delicious, _so_ soft, and - this was getting erotic. Still, Tsuzuki hummed contentedly as he sat back in his chair, forgoing the paperwork and kicking his feet up on his desk.

Because Hisoka had left to get copies, but apparently those stupid things work a lot faster these days. After that weird 'Empath Pill' (or whatever it was), had worn off, the brunette Shinigami didn't even notice his partner stroll into the room, sending his friend the oddest of looks.

''I believe the bet is over,'' came a cocky voice from a distance. Purple eyes shot open as Tsuzuki rose from his sitting position on his computer chair to see a blonde with green eyes and the most _cruelest_ smirk plastered on his face. ''I leave you alone for,'' Hisoka glanced at the clock, amusement evident in his eyes, ''a minute and forty-seven seconds, and _this_ happens? I've got to say - I'm impressed, Tsuzuki.''

Perhaps someone had kidnapped Hisoka and replaced him with a nicer, kinder Hisoka that would pardon Tsuzuki _one_ slip-up. But, judging by the way Hisoka strolled over to Tsuzuki's desk and placing a large stack of papers by the Shinigami's pen, it would seem not. ''You do realize that you _won't_ get your doughnuts, right?''

''Yes.''

''This also means that you accept that _I_ make a better _you_ than _you_ could ever hope to make a better _me_, right?''

''Confusing, but yes.''

''And, you are aware that someone has to get all this paperwork done, right?'' Now Hisoka was just being mean! But like a good person, Tsuzuki nodded gently, eyes downcast because the floor was _much_ more inviting than Hisoka right now.

Hisoka sighed and took a seat beside Tsuzuki. ''I was actually going to forfeit today, if you want to know the truth. You're a good actor, Tsuzuki. Or something like that.'' Tsuzuki looked over incredulously to see Hisoka staring at the desk (because it was _way_ more interesting than Tsuzuki was); it was funny how two people could have similar thoughts.

''I'm gonna get hand cramp!'' Tsuzuki whined loudly, taking a piece of paperwork from the stack. He might as well get it done now, because there was a whole month left of the stuff. Though, Tsuzuki figured, he might gain a couple IQ points from all this.

''You get breaks, you know,'' Hisoka deadpanned, taking a few sheets of paper off the very large stack. ''And I never said that I wasn't going to help you at least a little.'' Tsuzuki's face softened at the blonde's words, because maybe Hisoka was nicer than the Shinigami had given him credit for.

Hisoka pulled up a chair at the desk beside Tsuzuki and began filling out the papers with ease; he kept his eyes focused on the papers, but Tsuzuki still noticed the hint of a blush forming on the blonde's face. Maybe this bet, though it left Tsuzuki out of a churro for a month or so, might actually bring the two Shinigamis a little closer. And maybe something else, of course (if Tsuzuki's erotic fantasies meant nothing).

Yes, Hisoka was to-the-point and maybe even a little cold at times, but he was still Tsuzuki's partner. And, if this gave them a bit of extra bonding time . . .

Who was Tsuzuki to complain?

**A.N.: I know how horrible this wait was, and I can't really promise I'll update the other two parts in record timing, but I'd like to thank everyone for reading this piece of fanfiction. I'm a person who's not very good at updating (though I'm always mad at people who never update _my_ favorite stories). And, of course, if you ever have a request for a one-shot, I'm always happy to provide. Thanks for reading, and reviews are always welcome!**


	25. The Possible Ending 2

**A.N.: KILL ME! I seriously CANNOT believe myself sometimes! I think it's because I have so much going on that, apparently, my mind thinks that TsuSoka's not important enough. But it is. And here I stand, or rather, sit. And yes, I am one of those girls who also writes GLEE fanfiction (not sure if I'm proud of it or not). So, yeah, one more chapter after this, and then I'm done! Yay me! And yeah, this chapter's really short...meh...**

**I'm sorry. *shot multiple times* I don't own DoD or YnM, or sweet little cactus Rico. R.I.P. his little prickly heart...**

_Ending 2 - Tsuzuki's Turn_

He was gone, out of the room, _absent_. Looking around once more, just to make sure, Hisoka turned to the pile of paperwork stacked (rather neatly, surprisingly) on Tsuzuki's desk. It looked so tempting, luring him with those crisp white papers on an oak desk with that smooth glaze, and this just _wasn't fair_. Tsuzuki's half of the deal, staying healthy by not putting his (unbeating) heart through torture by many strenuous sweets and a perky personality. No, all stupid Tsuzuki had to do was stay calm and eat a couple carrot sticks. Nothing too hard.

No, _Tsuzuki_ didn't have to ruin his life's ambition and _keep from doing work_. Tsuzuki didn't, but Hisoka certainly did.

The pale blonde's eyes wandered once more to the alluring and oh-so-intoxicating stack of papers, sheets of typed print just _waiting _to have their bold lines signed and filed. But here they were, just waiting for Tsuzuki to come back and use his sloppy penmanship to ruin their sweet little frames.

The thought honestly made Hisoka sick.

Perhaps Tsuzuki wouldn't notice if (and he probably wouldn't) Hisoka just happened to fill out a few little pieces and place them in their proper folders. Yes, Tatsumi would be very happy, Tsuzuki would have less work, Watari would be happy, and Hisoka could be fulfilled. And besides, Tsuzuki would have less work. It would be the best of both worlds, wouldn't it? Wouldn't it?

Tsuzuki would never know. He just wouldn't. With this positive (surprisingly positive, considering Hisoka) outlook, the blonde slowly stood up from his chair and crossed the space between his and Tsuzuki's desks. He only grabbed two or three (or eight) slices of paper, and to save time, sat down at Tsuzuki's office space. He picked out a nice ink pen with a good felt tip that made those sharp, clear swipes of handwriting, and Hisoka began writing.

He could even _fake _Tsuzuki's penmanship, if not just a little bit neater. The small Shinigami couldn't help the small smile that etched itself onto his face; this was where he belonged, working, happily so.

"'Soka?"

No. Oh, no. No, no, no_nono_! Hisoka slowly, very slowly, turned his head to see his partner holding a cup of coffee, mouth drawn open in a surprised expression. The two were staring at each other, neither moving, until Tsuzuki smirked.

It wasn't exactly the most comforting thing, really.

"Couldn't take it, could you?" the taller man asked, placing his cup of coffee onto his desk, also effectively trapping Hisoka in the small corner between Tsuzuki's body and the wall. Curse Tsuzuki and his terrible desk-placing ability. Taking a quick gulp of air, trying to fight off the momentary panic (not the scary kind, only the disbelieving kind), Hisoka placed the pen down. As if it would take away his guilt. "No, Hisoka couldn't quite take not touching the paperwork. He had to do it, didn't he?"

"Shut up."

"He _had _to try to lie about it, too. He thought if I didn't see it, then it didn't happen. But it did, huh?"

"Please..."

It was like some sort of humorous interrogation. Except for the fact that both were very much serious.

"But it all backfired, didn't it? It _did_. I saw what you did, Hisoka, and I _know_. And you know what else I know?"

"...What?"

"You just lost the bet. Big time. And I get my month's worth of doughnuts. And churros. So many churros."

If it had been anyone else, Hisoka might've started crying. As it was, he didn't; but he did feel humiliated and terrible and guilty (for some reason or another). The blonde finally raised his emerald eyes to meet Tsuzuki's purple ones. What he saw made him feel all the worse.

Tsuzuki was laughing.

"'Soka-chan, you should've seen your face! I didn't know I could do that! I was totally copying Tatsumi, actually. But you looked so sad, and I just couldn't take how funny that was! But seriously though, I do get my doughnuts. And some of them better be cream-filled."

When Hisoka nodded mutely, he realized something. Sure, he had lost his bet, Tsuzuki managed to win _and _scare the living death out of him, and he was going to have to be on clean-up-Tsuzuki's-desk duty, but it was kind of worth it. Maybe not in the way he had originally expected, because he honestly thought that Tsuzuki would've been the one pouting, but he did win.

For starters, Hisoka got to keep his paperwork. That was a win-win.

And secondly? Churros were kind of like pocky. And Tsuzuki was one of those odd people that were strangely fond of the "Pocky Game".

This _could _potentially end well.


	26. The Possible Ending 3

**A.N.: Terrible Updater Alert! Seriously, I need an award for being a terrible person. I am SO sorry to all the readers, and I'm even more sorry to the people who've probably abandoned or thought of abandoning this story. It's certainly been a long road, and I'm SO glad I was on it. This story means so much to me, and all my reviewers mean so much to me. Thanks for everything, guys; it's meant the world to me. I don't own Yami no Matsuei/Descendants of Darkness. That'd be so cool, though.**

_Ending 3 - A Happy Medium?_

To say that both the Shinigami were miserable in their current predicament would be a complete understatement. Miserable didn't even begin to suffice. No, this was just plain torture.

Hisoka sneaked around a corner, entering into Tsuzuki's office. He chose to keep the lights off - it would keep better coverage for the blonde. There it was, paperwork, neatly stacked on a desk, just _waiting_ to be filled out and filed. Hisoka could do it quickly, and Tsuzuki would never notice, right?

He was way too dense for that sort of thing.

With trembling fingers, Hisoka pulled out the first piece of paper, savoring the crisp ivory sheet. It looked positively radiant, in the blonde's humble opinion. Hisoka picked a respectable-looking pen from Tsuzuki's desk and started to forge the amethyst-eyed Shinigami's signature. It wasn't hard, really.

He was in such a state of bliss that Hisoka even read through the papers thoroughly, enjoying every word that that lovely piece of paper contained. This was euphoria. This was perfection. This-

The door opened, revealing a tall figure.

This was not good.

Hisoka considered diving under the desk to hide, but he thought better of it. Frankly, he didn't care much at all anymore. So what if Tsuzuki caught him? What difference would it make? The blonde had his paperwork, he was completely content. In fact, he _dared _the idiot to try and dash this wonderful feeling. It wasn't often that Hisoka felt complete peace, after all.

However, Hisoka realized, narrowing his eyes when he noticed that the tall figure was, in fact, Tsuzuki, the brunette was eating something. And not just _something_ - it was a doughnut.

Purple met green in a showdown of wills. Hisoka opened his mouth to speak, but no words seemed to come out. Tsuzuki too seemed incapable of saying anything. Finally, after what seemed like much too long, Hisoka found his voice. "You're eating sweets!" the short blonde accused, eyes alight.

"W-Well, you...you're doing paperwork!" Tsuzuki shot back, pointing a finger towards the _very _incriminating evidence. Hisoka glanced over at the stack of papers and quickly moved to cover it up. He realized, of course, that it would do him absolutely no good to try to hide. He had been found out, as had Tsuzuki, and now they were both in for it.

And then, a thought occurred to the young empath. He turned towards the confection in Tsuzuki's hand, and then towards his unfinished paperwork on the desk. "We both lost," he admitted softly.

"Yeah, but, if we both lost, then that also means that we both won, right, 'Soka?" Tsuzuki asked brightly. He tilted his head toward the side, waiting for his partner's answer. And, although Hisoka _hated _to admit that the brunette _could _have a good idea, this one certainly was. It was a good idea.

"So, what do we do?"

Putting a finger up to his chin in thought (and managing to get some frosting on his face in the process), the taller Shinigami considered things. "I guess we either both face our consequences-" That didn't sound too good. "-Or we do nothing. Absolutely nothing. We call off the bet in general and pretend that nothing happened."

"But..."

"I know you like winning, 'Soka, and I do, too, but let's count our losses here. If I win, then you buy me doughnuts. You hate spending money, and I hate putting you out. If you win, then I have to do paperwork and get...hand cramp...again, and you still won't be able to do paperwork. If you think about it, this really is the only sensible option we have in which we both win."

Hisoka thought on this for a few moments. "By doing nothing?"

"Precisely!"

As much as the blonde didn't want to, he nodded reluctantly. "I gotta say, Tsuzuki, you held out fairly long. Longer than I would've pegged you for. I'm actually impressed."

"Me, too," Tsuzuki admitted. "I thought you'd get tired of yourself before we even got started. I'm really proud of you, Hisoka!"

A blush rose to Hisoka's cheeks at the compliment. "Yeah, well, I hate when you're right. And besides, if I can put up with you for as long as I have, I probably could've lasted longer. I was just letting you win so that you'd feel better about yourself and wouldn't whine the entire time." Hisoka crossed his arms haughtily, closing his eyes, refusing to look at Tsuzuki.

"Alright. I'll believe you. But I did learn something."

"What's that, idiot?"

Tsuzuki took a long stride towards the blonde, closing the distance between the two. "You are a remarkable person. You're strong-willed and stubborn, sure, but you're so smart and talented. And Hisoka? You're also the kindest person I've ever met. Thanks for being my partner."

If the "proud" comment had elicited a blush out of Hisoka, then this statement certainly had the poor blonde brighter than a Christmas tree. Hisoka turned his entire body so that Tsuzuki couldn't see his face. "I...thanks...you're...not so bad yourself."

That was all it took. Tsuzuki took hold of the empath's shoulders and readjusted Hisoka, looking straight into his green eyes. Hesitating for just a moment, Tsuzuki leaned in, capturing the blonde's lips in his own. Hisoka struggled for just a moment, but eventually deepened the kiss. He wanted this, _had _wanted this longer than he'd ever care to admit. It was as if a spark of electricity had jolted between the two. Tsuzuki pulled away, a light blush dusting his own cheeks.

"Do I taste like strawberry jelly?" he asked excitedly.

Hisoka wiped his lips with the back of his arm. "Exactly like it. It was horrible." _But_, the empath added silently, just to himself, _I may grow to like it_.

**FIN.**


End file.
